A Crystal Diamond
by Noxfero
Summary: Kinda sequel of "site three six incident". Crystal Horn had been condemned to imprisonment in Canterlot's prison. But the princess has been convinced to try and rehabilitate him, in the calm town of Ponyville, where her student can watch over him. But little do they know that he's plotting to escape, regain his powers, and also save his life from his 'friends...' Reviews apreciated
1. Chapter 1

Some ponies thinks that being the former joint of Equestria, with enough magical power to raise the sun every day is an easy job. I can understand why they might think that.

The truth is, it's probably the worst job ever! Raising the sun is only a little part of it. You also have to listen to your subjects' problems, and try to find a solution that makes everypony happy. You have to make sure that the economy is working well, keeping the welfare of your people stable. You have to listen to all the complaints of the pompous 'nobility' that always have something to say about their lack of excessive privilege, and such things.

I do that without any problem. I'm devoted to the welfare and happiness of my kingdom and my subjects. Even of the ones that deserve it the least, always eventually giving them another chance. Eventually.

I had to remember that, this morning.

I was doing my daily work, as usual. After raising the sun, I managed to eat something, while waiting for the rest of my councilors to wake up and help me. I may be powerful, but that doesn't give me more time to deal with everything. So when I left the dining room and realized it was still early in the morning, I thought I would go say good morning to Luna, since we often don't have very much time to talk together.

I was right outside the door to her room, when I heard a scream of anguish come out from the around the corner. I was immediately startled; I could feel my wings open with a snap, ready to spring into action, as my mind immediately began to jump to the more horrible, and I might add exaggerated, events as of late: the return of the changelings, Discord free again, an attack from the dragons…

I calmed almost immediately when a couple of servants poked their heads out from around other corners, as Luna herself poked her head out of the darkness of her room, her cute nightcap resting on her head. I smiled at her reassuringly, and prepared to investigate the scream.

"Your highness!" exclaimed a guard from behind me, trotting towards me. "Leave this to us, we'll-"

He didn't have the time to finish his sentence, as a pegasus mare in a clean white uniform darted past us crying in distress and disappearing after a few seconds. The guards were dumbfounded, blinking at the corner where the mare disappeared. Along with myself. She was quite fast, and I didn't even have the time to recognise the poor dear. Luna, on the other hoof, did.

"Am I wrong, or that was Miss Green Gem?" she asked in a groggy voice, rubbing at her eyes. Indeed, she had been Green Gem. The latest psychologist of the dungeons, after the last four had given their resignations over the last five months. I had a clear idea of why the poor dear had been crying like that.

"Luna, do you mind reassuring Miss Green Gem. Tell her I'll see her as soon as possible. I'll be really upset if even she leaves us like the others." I said, while trying to keep my voice under control. Luna looked tiredly at me, but walked slowly out of her room, and left to search for the mare, the sleeping cap still on her head. Good girl.

I reassured the guard, before I started to walk towards the dungeon entrance. Since the current dungeons had once been a storage area beneath the castle, the entrance were quite decorative and elaborate. It's definitely hard to identify it as a dungeon. The first two level of the dungeons are quite nice and well-polished. Usually burglars and thieves are kept there. They are treated well by the guards and the attendants.

By the time they get out they are mostly changed, with a new job that we manage to find for them. They are all well behaved, and bow to me when I pass, as do the guards. Some of them already have some sort of job, especially the ones that have to maintain a family. It's my duty to help the less fortunate, even if they have done wrong. I continued to descend, smiling warmly to my little ponies. The third level of the dungeons are still in the old, refined style of the castle, and it's actually used as a storage area and barracks for the dungeon guards. The lower levels are rather new, carved in crude stone, without any definition in the walls. I had them built just in case. I never used them, luckily. Until now, of course.

As I continued to descend, I started to hear arguing: a group of Solar Guards and Night Guards were arguing, hissing sharp and cruel words to each other. They stopped as soon they saw me, saluting, just to start again as soon as I walked away. They used to be friends and allies, but lately, there is only poison and harsh words between them. Sometimes, when they come out of the dungeons, they start to pick on the servants and the other guards. Disorder spreading everywhere.

That was something I could hardly tolerate. I walked towards the last cell, and glared at the unicorn inside.

-oOo-

As the alicorn cleared her throat to announce her presence, she couldn't stop herself from looking around the cell: it was much smaller and darker than the older ones. The only light came from a lantern chained to the ceiling. Inside, there was just a dusty little bed. And a unicorn, looking at the stone wall while murmuring to himself, and splattering the rests of the green soup inside the bowl behind him on the wall, drawing some strange symbol.

Knowing what was in the soup, the alicorn couldn't really blame him for wasting the food. As soon as the princess cleared her throat again, the unicorn turned towards her, smiling politely: he was a black stallion with a long, silver scruffed and unclean mane. Not that he had the chance to clean his figure very much down here. His purple eyes immediately stopped on hers, without fear or respect.

He raised to his hooves and began to walk slowly towards the cell door, his long and unclean silver tail dragging on the dirty floor. The lantern's light shimmered on the crystalline horn of the unicorn, which was enclosed by a gold and black ring, as he sat in front of the alicorn, his smile unchanging.

"So, princess. Why have I been graced by the honor of your presence?" he asked in his calm and controlled voice. The voice of a charming stallion.

"The voice of a liar." thought the princess, holding herself back from growling at the unicorn. She instead sat on the ground, smiling at the unicorn, her pastel colored mare waving slightly through the air.

"Good day to you, Crystal Horn. I was just thinking of paying you a visit. We have to be sure you are in shape, after all."

"Since that journalist came here twice a week to make up stories about me, I assume it's better if I am in shape, yes." Said calmly Crystal Horn, studying the alicorn.

"Oh, by any chance, did you have one of your sessions with the new psychologist today?" the alicorn asked kindly. The stallion smirked, before standing up and walking to his bed.

"I assumed this was about that. After all, you came see me just once, since I've been here. It was the first day I arrived, playing the game of the "Good Cop, Bad Cop" with your sister. Really pathetic, I must say." The alicorn stiffened, but didn't drop her smile. That was what the unicorn wanted. "Yes, I had a session today. Quite frankly, I'm disappointed: she burst into tears after only twenty minutes. I must say that the third psychologist was the best one between the five."

"They are supposed to help you, Crystal." Said the alicorn. The stallion chuckled.

"No, they want to obtain what you and your sister failed to obtain from me: the reason why I tried to damn all of Equestria. You don't need to be a genius to understand that. So, I've just been having a little fun with them. I wouldn't do that if I had something to read down here."

"You drive them away!" snapped the princess, frowning. "You open old scars. For all of them! Things that they didn't want to think about!"

"It's one of the advantages of being a psychologist too: it's easy to see other ponies' weaknesses." chuckled the stallion.

"You let them give up the job! One of them killed himself two days after!"

"Things that happen."

The alicorn bit her lip, calming down. That was the stallion wanted, after all. He was playing with her like he had played with the others. He reminded her of Discord: smug, prideful and without a care for how annoying he was.

"And I assume that making the guards fight each other is your doing as well?"

"As I said, I have to pass the time somehow." Stated calmly the unicorn. "It's quite boring in here, you know? I don't even know whether it's day or night time. I don't even know if I'm supposed to sleep or not." Commented calmly the unicorn. "So yeah, I drove away another doctor trying to play mind games with me. If this answers your question."

The alicorn sighed, as Crystal Horn turned again towards the cell wall, and started to draw symbols again with the rest of his meal. In the beginning, she had thought that he was crazy. Completely out of his mind, living in a false world his brain had created. That would have explained everything he had done. But the third psychologist that had examined him (the only one that that hadn't left the session screaming and crying) stated that he was completely sane. He was completely aware of what he was doing. And that was not encouraging in the slightest.

The alicorn stood up and walked away, fuming slightly. As soon as she left the dungeons, the fake smile she used to greet the other few prisoners and the guards dropped, and the alicorn let out a heavy sigh.

"He doesn't regret his actions, does he?" asked Luna, coming out from behind a corner. Celestia shook her head, walking with her sister.

"No. Sometimes, I start to think that keeping him in the dungeons wasn't the greatest idea. He's spreading unhappiness among the guards. They were fighting when I went down, and they were fighting when I left there. And you know how these things work. When the guards change, unhappiness spreads all throughout the castle…" She let out another sigh. "Sometimes I think I should have gotten rid of him in the first place, and told the ponies it was an accident."

"Tia!" exclaimed the dark blue alicorn with surprise, frowning at her sister. "We are better than that!"

"I know, I know… it's just that sometimes it's hard to deal with certain subjects…"

"You know Tia, I don't think we are dealing with him in the right way…" stated the smaller alicorn, getting her sister's attention. "We are closing him away, without letting him have anything, trying to trick him into telling us why he was going to do what he was going to do… I don't think we're giving him the right motivation…"

Celestia sighed, rolling her eyes. This again. Of course Luna was more sympathetic towards a convict with a sentence of life-imprisonment. She had been imrpisoned in the Moon for a thousand years. She knew all too well what it was like being isolated from… well, everything.

"I think we should take into consideration what Calm Wave told us. About the rehabilitation." Ended Luna, giving a quick glance at her sister.

"We can't permit that. We don't know what the outcome might be."

"Sister, Calm Wave was the only one that didn't leave in tears after her session with that unicorn, so I assume we can trust her judgment. She said that in a positive environment, Crystal Horn may become a better pony. Explain himself. Redeem himself, even!"

"Luna, please, you can't think that something like that might work. Somepony that tried to poison all Equestria… is somepony that will not change."

"Everypony deserves a chance, sister." Stated simply the princess of the night, yawning. "Maybe he might decide to tell us why he was trying to do that. So we may have the confirmation if it was an attack planned by some enemy of the realm. It'll be much easier than trying one psychologist after another." She yawned again, before levitating her hat and stumbling towards her room. "Think about it." She yawned once more, before entering aher room nd closing the door behind her.

Celestia grumbled to herself, before starting to trot towards her next chore of the day. She didn't have think about it. There was no way in pony hell she'd let that happen!

-oOo-

The princess shuffled a little uncomfortably on the little seat where she was sitting. While the mare that was hosting her was in an adjacent room, fixing some tea for her, Celestia let her eyes explore the little room: she rarely had the chance to see how her subjects actually lived. The walls were of a dull gray color, darkened by the dim light coming inside from the cloudy sky out of the big window behind the desk in front of her. She quickly glanced at the degrees framed on the walls.

"Here I am princess, sorry for the wait." Stated the mare she had been waiting for, trotting inside the room while levitating a pair of cups full of tea in a gray magic grip. Smiling, Celestia nodded and grabbed one, while studying the mare as she sat behind the desk: she was quite a mature unicorn mare, with a white coat, silver and well groomed mane and tail, and a pair of glasses on her muzzle. She sat on her seat and looked quizzically at the princess, taking a sip.

"You probably are wondering why I'm here. Don't worry, I'm not here to ask you to come back to your old job." Began the princess, taking a sip of tea. "I just want to ask you your professional advice."

"I think I might know what this is about." Chuckled the mare. Celestia noted her hooves shaking slightly on the table. "It's not a surprise really. Even if I doubted you would ever consider my proposal."

"I'm still doubtful." Admitted the alicorn, before drinking a little bit more tea. "But I must admit, that in all the years of my life, I never had the time to accurately study a pony's mind. I could actually use the help of an expert."

"You were too busy saving all of us." Stated the mare, smiling. Celestia smiled back. It was always a pleasure talking with her. She always knew what to say. "For what we talked about… I'm sure that a calm, happy and positive environment may help the subject to rehabilitate his mind and soul. He's not affected by any mental illness, so I'm keen on he thought that he's just ill in the soul."

"So what? I have to make him part of the castle staff?" asked the princess, raising an eyebrow when the mare giggled.

"No princess, that will not work. There will still be the oppression caused by your presence, reminding him that he's a prisoner. He has to forget that, he has to reintegrate with a normal, sane society. Of course, there have to be no guards around for the same reason."

"I can't let him wander without supervision!" exclaimed the alicorn, while putting (with a little too much force) her cup on the table.

"Yes, I think that in the beginning it wouldn't be a good thing. But if the pressure is still on him, it will never rise to a better level. You don't have any servants, or trusted friends that can keep an eye on him, and in case of a bad reaction, take him down?" asked the mare, tilting her head. Celestia tapped her chin, thinking. There was indeed somepony…

-oOo-

The last line is made. Finally! I had had enough of the gross sensation of the food's remains on my hoof. The guards thought I was going nuts. I let them fight each other. At least now they are far away with their huffing and growling.

The last sign is made, the set is complete. Now, the species… I crawl under my bed, and take out a set of dead, dried leafs. Perfect. I also take out a little piece of iron and flint. I'll need a little fire. I put all of this under the symbols on the wall, and breath heavily.

I have to do this. I have to tell them to give me a little more time. I can't pay my debt without magic, right? I hope they understand… I gulp fearfully, knowing what I have to do. I need blood for this. A good amount. Probably have to bite off my own hoof. Hope they fix it.

I open my mouth and put my left foreleg inside, pressing down slightly with my teeth. A pony's teeth aren't made to cut flesh, so this will hurt a lot. I'm ready to bite, when a sudden, strong smell flooded my nostrils. The sun witch is here again. Fuck. I kick the plants under the bed, as well as the steel and flint. I jump against the wall and start to scrabble over the signs. She hadn't recognised them this morning, but better safe than sorry. When she arrives at my cell, her golden aura sparkling all around and accompanied by a group of guards, I'm happily singing to the ceiling.

"Stand up prisoner!" growls one of the guards, apparently a captain. Bulky unicorn, bigger than me, white coat, blue mane, a shield-like cutie mark. I oblige flatly, putting on my best condescending smile. Since I had to deal with them, I might as well play a little.

"Prepare yourself, Crystal. We are taking you out of here." Says the princess, smiling deviously. That surprised me. A lot. She chuckled, since I stay still like an idiot, without saying anything, and] my smile replaced by an open. "After a little talk with my sister and Calm Wave, we decided to try to rehabilitate you, outside of here. In Equestria."

That's rich.

"You are going to stay in a small town, in the hospitality of another pony. You're going to have a job, and basically pass some nice time. I think that may help a little, yes?"

Not in the slightest, you dumb bitch. So coky and sure of yourself, with all the power you think you have. Without even knowing about the real forces of the world…

"I already made the arrangements. Come on, don't waste time." She says, now looking a little annoyed by my lack of reaction. I sighed and trotted over to the open cell door. Maybe being out wouldn't be so bad. Maybe I could even try to escape. Or get this damned anti-magic ring off of my horn.

"So… Princess, where are you taking me? What idyllic place have you chosen for my….rehabilitation…?" I asked, putting as much poison as possible in the last word. She didn't seem impressed as she walked alongside me, while the captain and another guard walked in front of us, with two following behind.

"A little rural village, south-west from here, not too far away. It's called Ponyville. Ever hear of it?"


	2. Chapter 2

The mare opened her eyes, yawning, feeling soft sensation of the blanket wrapped around her body. She yawned again, moving her semi-closed eyes towards the window, shut with purple curtains. With a little spark from her horn, the curtains slowly opened, letting the morning sun inside the room.

Twilight Sparkle rolled out of the bed, rubbing her sore eyes and stumbling towards the mirror on one side of the room, levitating a comb and starting to groom her mane to undo the knots and straighten it. It wasn't a long task, since her mane was quite easy to take in position, but was anyway part of her morning routine.

When she was lowering the comb, her nostrils picked up the scent of toasted daisies and tea. She smiled to herself, while opening the bedroom door and stepping down the stairs: her number one assistant was already working. He sure was, since a cup of tea and a plate filled with her favourite breakfast were waiting for her on the table.

"Morning Spike." She greeted the little dragon, as she approached the table and gave another sniff of the daisies: marvelous.

"Hey Twilight, morning." Waved the little dragon, while brushing the floor with a broom, diligently accomplishing all of his daily chores. "Hope the breakfast is warm enough. I made it early, so I had more time to do all my jobs."

"Busy day?" asked the unicorn, while biting into the daisies.

"You bet. Rarity asked me to go look for gems with her later on. I want to be done here." He said with pride, while brushing around. Twilight smiled, even if she felt a little twinge of envy. She never managed to get Spike doing something without a little complaining at first.

"Well, I hope you two find a whole lot of them. And remmember, if Rarity offers you some gems to eat, don't go overboard with them. I don't want you to have a tummyache." She said with a smile, stroking the scaly head of the dragon. "You know what? Go out now, I'll finish your chores." she added, her smile growing even bigger as the little dragon's eyes sparked in gratitude.

"Really?! Thank you Twilight, I really ah…ah…ah…" began Spike, before stopping, and beginning to take fast breaths. Recognising the symptoms of a dragon sneeze, Twilight quickly turned him with her magic grasp, as soon as Spike burped out a stream of green flames. "Uh… sorry 'bout that…" he muttered, while covering his mouth. The mare patted his head, levitating the scroll that had appeared in the burst of flames.

"Dont worry." Said the mare, while opening the letter and beginning to read. Spike smiled and darted towards his basket, ready to gather some stuff for his quest of protecting Rarity from eventual dangers during their search.

"Spike!" called Twilight. Her tone was tense and a little worried. Immediately the little dragon was at his friend's side.

"Yes Twilight?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you can't go gem hunting with Rarity. Not right now, at least. Please, get the girls and bring them to the town hall. I have to see the mayor."

-oOo-

The unicorn took a deep breath, while covering his eyes from the sun coming out from a set of clouds. It had been almost five months since he'd seen a glimpse of the sky or tasted a sip of fresh air. Celestia waited a couple of seconds as Crystal Horn took another breath, before she started to walk again towards the golden carriage waiting for them.

"My, you must be taking this quite seriously if you permit me to ride the royal carriage." Commented the unicorn, eying the golden transport and the group of solar guards ready to pull it.

"I just don't want to let every pony know that we are giving you this chance just yet." Said calmly the alicorn, stepping on the golden surface. "Someponies might not take as kindly to this choice." The unicorn nodded while stepping onto the carriage and sitting at Celestia's side, shifting a little uneasily at the alicorn's presence.

"And… you think that in this… Ponyville… there isn't any danger for me?" muttered the unicorn, trying to avoid being too close to the alicorn.

"I'm sure of it. It's quite a small community, and they are not completely aware of what you did. They are aware that you are a criminal…" began harshly the mare, before trying to soften her tone. "But I explained to them the situation. They'll be nice to you."

"I'm sure of that." muttered the unicorn. "I had some personal effects while you decided to… host me in your lovely dungeons. Are they waiting for me in that place?"

"I'm afraid not. I think you can try to earn them back with good behavior." Answered the alicorn with a half of a smirk. "I think you'll want to be on your best. You have to understand that we really want to help you out."

"I'm sure you do…" muttered the unicorn, his mouth slightly frowning. Evidently, he wasn't happy about that at all.

"Ok Princess, you are ready to go." Stated the white unciorn in armor, stepping beside the carriage. "Princess, are you sure about this?" he murmured, while glaring at the unicorn that was mumbling something to himself. "He has demonstrated that he's heartless criminal. Do you think it's safe to try and do this?"

"I can understand your fear, captain Armor." Whispered back the princess. "But I can assure you, this is all under control. I was convinced that this is actually the best course of action to take. Also, as a unicorn without not a strong muscular structure and his horn's magic sealed, he's not a threat. I'm sure your sister can manage somepony like him. I have complete faith in her."

"If you say so, princess…" muttered the stallion, stepping back. "We'll be waiting for your return." The alicorn nodded and waved her hooves at the pegasi who immediately started to pull carriage as they they opened their wings, ready to dart into the sky.

Crystal Horn looked as the mighty town of Canterlot began to disappear behind them. Maybe things were going more his way. Of course, he had his magic sealed. And the spell that gave life to his shadow was long broken. And in all likelihood his benefactors were probably furious. But at least, he now had a chance.

-oOo-

"Well…" started the mayor, as soon as Twilight ended her explanation what the princess had asked her to do. "…This is rather unexpected and sudden from the princess. Are you sure she's going to send out this… pony today?" she asked, with a slight frown on her muzzle. The unicorn shook her head, frowning as well. "Well… since the princess trusts all of us, and in particular in you Twilight, we shall not disappoint her."

"What do you think mayor, should we announce his presence to the town?" asked the unicorn, while following the mare as she walked around the office. "I honestly don't know what's the best way to deal with a… criminal. I mean, since the princess is trusting ME to keep an eye on him, I'm sure he'll be powerless, maybe restrained too. But I fear that hysteria might spread through town, knowing that such a pony is wandering around Ponyville."

"Leave that to me, Twilight. I'll prepare a notice in no time, and let everypony know it in a jiffy. You just prepare your friends." said conficently the earth pony mare confidentlty. "We shall all welcome the princess."

-oOo-

Even before the carriage landed, Celestia noticed the silence that was enshrouded all of Ponyville like a shrud. She also noticed a couple of windows closing abruptly as the carriage lowered from the sky, aiming at the tree-house.

"You see, princess? Keeping your little ponies unaware of what evil is makes them unable to confront it." Said with a little smirk the unicorn. The princess grumbled, without answering. She had imagined that the population of Ponyvillw would have been scared. Nothing unexpected. She honestly hoped they would come around and treat Crystal as one of their own. After all, the basis of the rehabilitation focused on that assumption. She had chosen Ponyville not only because her prized pupil was there, but also because it was a calm, small and isolated town, not really influenced by the rest of the world.

"I suppose that for now it's better they're afraid than chasing you with torches and pitchforks." She answered, taking the grin off the unicorn's face. "When you performed your escape plan to save your life, confessing to the whole of Equestria what you had done, every screen transmitted it. Ponyville is a little old-fashioned, so they didn't know first-hoof what you did. I actually think they don't even know what you look like."

"Seems legit. Keeping the population in the fog of ignorance is one of the better ways to control it." Agreed the unicorn. Celestia sighed, shaking her head. She had to warn Twilight about the amazing ability of the stallion to tempt you into strangling him.

The carriage bumped a little as it landed on the clean road, and the princess descended with grace, moving her eyes to the group of…. Only one pony trotting towards her.

"Welcome Princess!" exclaimed Twilightbowing her head as Spike did the same, following with a slightly-scared frown on his face.

"It's good to see you Twilight." Greeted the alicorn with a warm smile. "I was hoping to see all of your friends here with you. Do they have their hooves full?" she asked, as the smile dropped from Twilight's face.

"Well… as soon as I told them what was going to happen, Applejack ran back home, to take care of her little sister." Celestia sighed. She couldn't expect anything else from a pony so bound to her family.

"Fluttershy said something about feeding her animals and left." Continued Twilight, scratching the ground. "Rarity leaved as well, I'm assuming she's keeping her little sister at home as well. Rainbow Dash is probably hidden in the clouds above us, and Pinkie Pie wanted to throw a party for the new pony. I tried to convince her that it wasn't a good idea. She continued to press the issue, so I told her to make a party for the anniversary of Roseluck's birthday, so she is at her place now. I suppose that it wasn't a good idea."

"That's ok Twilight. I can understand that. I hope they can help you in the task I'm giving you." started the alicorn with a smile. "It's not a task I'd give to everypony Twilight, but I believe that you'll be able to manage him without any problem."

"Oh… thank you Princess…" began Twilight, while raising her head, trying to look in the carriage. There was a unicorn, looking with boredom at the town, but no prisoners. Maybe it was tied down under his hooves. It was logical to think that the princess would have brought with her a royal guard, just to be sure that a dangerous criminal was in custody.

"Crystal Horn, come here!" called Celestia, causing a jump in surprise from the unicorn, who grumbled, then stepped off the carridge and trotted towards the couple of mares. Twilight noticed a golden ring encrusted with black and red gems around his crystalline horn.

"Twilight, this is Crystal Horn.. You'll be keeping an eye on him." presented the alicon, pointing at the stallion. Twilight blinked a couple of times. She focused her eyes on the stallion: he was a little bit taller than her, his coat completely black, even if stained and scruffed in different points. His mane was of a nice silver color, mixed with some white streaks. Like his coat, the mane was scruffed and ruined, while the tail had evidently grown too long and was dragging on the ground, dirtying it with filth. She looked at his cutie mark: a humanoid-shaped doll with two black needles stabbed in it. She raised an eyebrow: what did that mean?

"You mean, he is the one?" asked Twilight, surprised. She hadn't expected a normal looking pony at all! That unicorn… didn't look evil at all! She had been expecting an enormous pony, maybe covered in scars, with scarlet eyes and pointy teeth. At least, that was the basic villain shape in all the novels she read.

"Crystal, this is-"

"Twilight Sparkle, your own personal student, one of the best students of the school for gifted unicorns in the last thousand of years, and also bearer of the Element of Harmony known as Magic." Stated calmly Crystal Horn with a small smirk, studying the mare with his magenta eyes. "Quite hard not to know her. She's going to be my… caretaker?" he said in a warm tone, smiling at the unicorn mare. She blinked in confusion, blushing a little, flattered to have somepony actually know her.

"Yes, she is. And you can stop your mind games right now!" growled the princess. Crystal's smile dropped, as he growled as well. "Twilight, he's not a physical threat to you or Spike. He's quite weak, even for a unciorn." Said the princess, glaring at the fuming stallion. "And he also knows better than to try and hurt somepony. But you have to careful of his forked tongue."

"Why, thank you machawi wa jua, this is surely the best way to present me to somepony that has to give me a house." Hissed the pony. The princess raised an eyebrow but didn't answer. Twilight, on the other hoof, had the clear impression that the black unicorn had just insulted her mentor.

"Hey! Say you are sorry for what you said to the princess!" she snapped.

"It's alright Twilight. Just don't let him play with your head. He's quite good at that. He had five psychologists leave their jobs at the castle." Said calmly the alicorn. "Now, remember all the instructions I gave you in the letter. He won't use his magic, so he'll not be a threat. And you Crystal, just try to be nice ok? Don't see all of this as a punishment, but as a vacation of some sort. We just want to be friends with you." Said the alicorn, while stepping again on the carriage.

"Nawatakia kifo polepole na chungu." Stated calmly the unicorn, with a slight smirk. Twilight raised an eyebrow and trotted to her mentor's side.

"Are you sure about this? Do you really trust me with this task?" she asked, a little worried.

"I have complete faith in you Twilight. After all, you found friendship here. It's woth a try with him, despite what he did."

"I won't fail you, princess!" exclaimed the unicorn, puffing her chest out. "I'll be a good guardian for him, keep an eye on him and help him integrate with us! We'll change him."

"I really hope so."

"By the way, what did he just say?" asked the mare, as the carriage began to move, the pegasi flapping their wings, ready to fly in the sky.

"Oh, he just wished me a slow and painful death in the zebra's mother language." Called the alicorn, as the carriage darted into the sky. The mare stopped, her mouth hanging agape. She turned, and looked as the stallion grumbled something, trying to clean his tail from a stain of mud. If that was his reaction to the princess, she could see that the future period was going to be really, really hard.


	3. Chapter 3

Twilight gave a last glance to the little form of the chariot disappearing into the sky, before walking towards the other unicorn.

"Come on Twilight, nice and easy. He's a terrorist and a traitor to the kingdom, but you have to be nice. The princess gave you this task and you can't let her down... smile and be nice." She thought to herself to fight off the growing urge she had to kick the other unicorn in the face. He had just wished death to the princess!

"Well… how about we go inside?" she asked, catching the stallion's attention. "Surely after a flight from Canterlot you'd like a little bit of comfort." She added, gesturing to the open door of the library. The stallion raised an eyebrow, then shrugged.

"Mostly after five months of being in a cell. I'll really enjoy something soft to sit on." He stated, entering the enormous tree, followed by the mare who closed the door with a little flash of purple light. "So… is the town usually so deserted?"

Twilight bit her lip. She would have preferred if Spike wasn't hiding behind a shelf, peeking at them. It wasn't so much of a dsguise, since he was quite… visible. But apparently the stallion had decided both to ignore him or he didn't see him.

"Well… to be honest, no. But there were a few… negative reactions when I and the mayor announced the princess' project."

"So they are kinda hiding? Like little foals. That's kinda cute." Cooed Crystal Horn with a smirk, almost stumbling towards a pillow that the mare had used a few days before to sleep in the library, and sat on it with a satisfied expression. "You have no idea of what it is like, having something soft after months of cold, sturdy stone." He sighed, satisfied.

"You deserved that." thought the mare, but instead she smiled awkwardly and walked towards him. "Very well then… now, what was really clearly explained in the letter that the princess sent me, is that I have to be your host during the arc of time of your therapy. So you know my name, I know yours, this is a good start." She said enthusiastically, trying to mantain a positive approach. The stallion blinked.

"So we are going to share some basic rules, like mealtimes and such, so…"

"Whatever you want, Sparkle. You are the host." Said softly the stallion, studying the mare with his violet eyes. She nodded, satisfied. He was agreeing to her rules, that was good.

"Also, we are not alone here: there is Spike, my number one assistant, and Owlowicious, but he's kinda my pet owl so…" said the mare, waving a hoof, before turning towards the baby dragon and gesturing him to come near. Spike gulped and emerged from behind the shelves where he had been hiding, walking towards them as he held his tail between his claws nervously.

"This is Crystal Horn, Spike, we'll be hosting him for a little while." Introduced the mare, trying to fill the little dragon with a little bit of courage. She couldn't actually blame him when he raised his eyes towards the other unicorn and waved his hand without much conviction. She knew as well as he did the words and rumors that the newspapers had spread about Crystal Horn: that he caught all the bugs in his cell and ate them, that he drew strange symbols all around the walls and that he passed his days murmuring and chanting in strange languages. All not reassuring things.

The unicorn looked a little surprised at the little dragon, studying him with his violet eyes. His ears flapped, as he looked at the baby dragon's back, without saying a word, before finally returning his eyes to Spike's face and giving a little devious smile.

"Why, hello there, li'l Spike. Nice to meet you." He said softly, holding out a hoof. Twilight frowned at him, and stepped between him and the little dragon: the falsity in the stallion's words was evident.

"Very well then, now that we all know each other, I say we have talk a little about the rules of the house. Since you have to stay here, you have to follow them, as well as the laws of the princess. We're going to treat you well, anyway." She said, trying to mantain a positive approach.

"My tush will be thankful, I can assure you." mumbled Crystal. The mare grumbled something, as the little dragon let out a little chuckle. "So, let me guess: I'm not allowed to go anywhere, and I have to stay loked up in here."

"Well…no." The mare proudly. "In your face, convict!" "The princess said that it's my duty to reintroduce you into a civilized society. But of course, we can't do that with you closed-up beneath the library."

"Beneath the library?" asked the stallion, raising an eyebrow. The mare nodded and gestured for him to follow her. Crystal stood on his hooves again, following Twilight towards a door. She opened it, showing him a set of stairs decending down into a circular room a few meters below them, lit by a couple of candles, where a bunch of yellow papers laid scattered around. He could also see a lot of dusty and partially rusted machines hidden in a corner.

"This is going to be your room. Sorry, but we don't have a guest room, so…" stated the mare apologetically. The little dragon peeked out from behind her back, scratching his scales, while the stallion examined the room from above.

"Twilight, what about the room beside ours?" he asked, giving a questioning look to the mare, who in answer zipped his mouth close with a flash of purple magic. The stallion ignored both, taking a few steps down the stairs.

"I like it." He finally commented. Twilight blinked, before giving a little smile.

"Really?"

"Dark, close and silent, with a lovely hint of roots." He said, taking a full breath. "I like this."

"Well… this is… excellent. Glad you have a place to stay that you like. Spike, do you mind setting this place up a bit? We should have an emergency pillow and mattress somewhere."

"A calm dark place for me, where you can enter only from a door quite far from where I'll be. Giving me some tactical advantage, Celestia's dog." Thought the stallion. But instead, he turned innocently towards the mare as the little dragon exclaimed an "I'm on it!" and darted away. "You weren't prepared?" he asked calmly, still studying his new room.

"Well, the princess kinda told about her idea a few hours ago." Commented the mare, as Spike arrived carrying a deflated mattress, dragging it over the floor.

"Really? Evidently I pushed her over the edge then." Muttered the stallion, ignoring the mare's shocked expression. "She must have decided that her only choices were either killing me or trying this rehabilitation thing. And since she wants to be true to her name…"

"What kind of nonsense is this? The princess will never kill anypony, not even one like you!" snapped Twilight, stomping a hoof angrily on the floor, making Spike slightly jump. The stallion seemed on the edge of answering, but at the end he just bit his tongue and said nothing.

"Yeah, you'd better be quiet! Just be grateful she gave you this chance. She told me that you were going to attack all of Equestria with black magic!" the mare grumbled to herself, before regaining her composure. "Is there something you want right now? Your room will not be ready immediately, so maybe you'd like to see more of the house, or the library perhaps?" she asked, as Spike passed them grumbling, after catching the hint that it was his duty to arrange a bed for their guest.

Crystal Horn looked at his tail and fur for a couple of seconds.

"I'd like to wash myself." He commented at the end, raising his eyes. "It's not my custom to be unpleasant to others."

"Yeah, I imagine so. Otherwise, how could you trying to convince them to do what you want?" she hissed, remembering what the stallion had done: enter a scientific facility and convince ponies to kill each other! Celestia had explained that in her letter, and also warned her from his words. She glared at the stallion, without caring for the consequences of her outburst.

The stallion smiled, softly.

"Yes, that's right." He agreed gently, before stepping away, leaving a dumbfounded Twilight to stare into the void for a couple of seconds.

-oOo-

"So, as I said, you can't go around town without me or one of the others elements keeping an eye on you. That's a specific order from the princess. That, of course, doesn't mean that later on, we won't consider the idea of letting you go around on your own. But you understand, that's not an option right now." Explained the mare. She, Spike, and the other unicorn were sitting around the little table where, when she wasn't concentrating on some book or some important study, she shared her meals with her little assistant.

"Seeing the reactions the others had, it's better to keep you indoors for a couple of days. Maybe letting you meet my friends. The other Elements of Harmony, I mean." She continued, as the stallion on the other side of the table nodded slightly, spending a minimum amount of energy in following the conversation. He was actually more concerned trying to groom his tail, holding Twilight's comb in his hooves.

He had spent at least two hours under the shower (Twilight didn't even want to think of the bill). When he finally got out, at least his fur was clean and his mane and tail were shining. She wouldn't ever say it out loud, but she was quite happy that he had cleaned off the foul smell he had on him. Being closed away for five months in a cell wasn't exactly the best situation to keep somepony clean.

"You may at least participate a little more." Scolded the mare, raising an eyebrow and straightening her posture, trying to take an authoritative pose. The stallion gave her a quick glance, before returning to his clumsy grooming.

"Whatever you want, Sparkle. Please, go on." He muttered, trying to undo a knot in his tail. The comb tangled itself into it and slipped away from the stallion's grip and he let out a frustrated sigh. It was quite evident to Twilight that he wasn't used to the lack of magic.

She gave a glance at the ring locked tightly around the horn of the other unicorn, repressing a light shiver at the idea of being deprived of her magic.

"Anyway, I was thinking that maybe, as a start, tomorrow we can introduce you to my friends. What do you think about that?" asked the mare.

"You know the other elements better then me, of course." He muttered, grabbing the comb again as best he could, and restarting his grooming.

"It wouldn't hurt if you cooperated a little. I'm trying to be nice here." Mumbled the mare, but she shrugged it off. "Anyway, I think we should make a list and see who you need to see first. My friends have the same task as me, so this should be one of the first things we do tomorrow… then, we'll see."

"Oh, maybe they should come here, so you don't have to show him around. To keep the other ponies calm!" called Spike, raising his head from a plate full of fried hay and gems.

"That's actually a good idea… for now, at least, it's the best thing." Mumbled the purple mare, tapping a hoof on her chin, before nodding. "Ok, I'll let them come here… of course, only if they want to. No need to rush things. Are you ok with this, Crystal Horn? I imagine that maybe staying closed in here might be… frustrating again."

"If I have someplace soft where to sit, it's a great improvement from my last… residence. And at least, here I have something to entartein myself." Stated the stallion, gesturing at the library in the adjacent room. Twilight flinched a little: it wasn't actually her intention to permit HIM to touch HER books. But she had to give him a chance. After all, that was what the princess did.

"Very well then. You may take whatever book you want. Just return it undamaged."

"As you want, my lady." He answered, bowing his head and gesturing with reverence, a little smirk on his face.

-oOo-

"So, what do you think about him?" asked Twilight, as soon as her guest closed the door of the basement, carrying with him a candle and a book that he had chosen rather casually from the whole library. The baby dragon scratched his cheek, narrowing his eyes and looking at the closed door.

"I don't know… he seems less scary than all the newspapers painted him." he muttered. "But for sure, he's not nice." He immediately added. "And maybe he's just playing along just to try and escape!"

"That… may be the case, right now… it's his first day out of a cell…" grumbled the mare, frowning. "Spike, get my sleeping bag."

-oOo-

Real sleep. Finally, after so many days, a real bed. Well, it was deflated and ripped, the pillow was half empty and the blanket too small. But it was better than nothing. Crystal Horn sighed happily as he dragged up his covers and blew out the candle, falling into total darkness.

The mare and her dragon slave were probably afraid he might try to escape. Why else would they put him in a room without windows? But he was going to disappoint them: escaping wasn't in his to-do list. Well, not so clumsily and hastily. It was something to do when he was certain to not raise suspicion immediately. It would be a lot of work, but he could do that. And of course, there was the magic-sealing ring problem. The unicorn yawned and closed his eyes. For now, he was just happy that things worked out quite better than he had expected them to.

When the princess had told him about what she wanted to do, he had been quite terrified. Mostly because he was sure it was some sort of intricate plan to throw him off the chariot and show it as a tragic accident that had happened while the good princess was trying to help him. It turned out she was actually going to try to "help" him.

How conceited was that? But at least he was out of prison. Better than nothing, after five months of waiting and almost biting off his foreleg.

He turned and yawned again, curling up in a fetal as his breathing became regular. Calm and comfortable…

Crystal's eyes opened wide as he sat up suddenly felt the temperature drop into the room: he sit on the mattress, and glanced around terrified: a sick greenish fog was surrounding him, as a series of mouths and empty eyes appeared in the puffs of fog.

He darted to his hooves, looking around: he wasn't in the tree's basement anymore: everything was total darkness, except for the green fog that was shining sickeningly. Other faces emerged and disappeared constantly, as smoky hands moved towards him.

"You owe us…" rasped a head that emerged from the smoke, its eyes shining with scarlet light.

Crystal Horn let out a scream, crawling backwards. He suddenly lost the ground under his hooves, and found himself falling into the void, the green smoke swirling above him.

"You owe us… You got to pay us…"

Crystal screamed again and leapt up: the blanket flew away, as he stumbled off the mattress.

"I got to tell them I'll pay! To ask for a little more time!" he blabbered to himself, turning and starting to run up the stairs in total darkness, tripping and slamming his muzzle on the steps a couple of times. He finally reached the door and pulled it, hoping that the purple mare hadn't locked it. She didn't.

Instead, she was standing on the other side of the door, a candle held in her magical grasp and a frown on her face.

"Going somewhere?" she asked in a chilly tone. Crystal Horn noted a sleeping bag behid her, as well as a little bed where the purple dragon was snoring loudly.

"Calm down. Be polite, be gentle, be persuasive." Thought the stallion, licking his lips. "I…had a nightmare. Just wanted to take a little walk to clear my mind." He said, trying to be convincing. He wasn't totally lying, after all. And also, the fact that he was actually shaking and sweating like crazy gave credit to him. "I'm also going to need another shower." The mare raised an eyebrow, then turned, lifting the candle up in the air.

"Come on, I'll lead you. It's four in the morning, you'll run into everything, wandering alone." she whispered, passing the little sleeping body of Spike. Crystal nodded and trotted behind her, as his mind wandered off. He needed to calm them. He needed to ask for more time, or without any contact on his part, they were going to get violent.

And he definitely didn't want that.


	4. Chapter 4

Twilight yawned and groaned, as a ray of light beamed through one of the library's windows and hit her face, forcing her first to turn around inside the sleeping bag, and then to stand up grumpily as soon as the sun started to hit her ear. She slipped out of the old bag and stretched her legs, pressing a hoof on her sore back: laying on the hard floor of the tree wasn't really good for the spine.

"Morning Twilight." Called Spike from his basket, yawning. The unicorn envied him for having had a mattress under him, letting him actually be comfortable last night. "Do you want me to prepare breakfast?" the little dragon asked, before his eyes fell on the clock. "Nine thirty in the morning?!" he exclaimed surprised, before returning his gaze to the groggy unicorn. "Why didn't you wake me up like usual?"

"I was still sleeping.." grumbled the mare, rubbing her neck, feeling her mane was more messy than usual. The baby dragon blinked, before moving his eyes to the door of the basement..

"Did he… do something?" he asked half-afraid as he stared at the door. The mare rubbed her eyes, before walking over to her assistant and patting his head.

"Not at all, he behaved. I was just up for most of the night, in case he didn't." she stated, reassuring Spike. "Now, what if we prepare some breakfast?" she added. "Something quick, I want to ask the others if they feel like meeting him." she muttered.

"Tell Rarity that if she doesn't feel like it, I'm still available for the gem hunt!" he called, as the mare entered the kitchen.

"Of course you are. No doubt about that." snickered Twilight, beginning to levitate a tea pot and a packet of tea. The litle dragon walked inside the kitchen as well, trying to help the mare the best he could.

"What are we going to do for…him?" he asked after a couple of minutes, while spreading soya butter over a series of slices of bread. The mare blinked, while taking the now whistling tea pot over the flame and starting to pour the dark liquid into a couple of cups.

"Mh… spare a cup of tea for him." she finally said, before gulping down her tea. "Just remember, don't let him leave here. If he tries something, use your dragon's grit. I'll try to be the quickest I can."

"What grit?" asked the little dragon, following the mare with his eyes as she ran upstairs, seemingly to comb her mane.

"You know. But don't worry, stay calm, and don't let him play with you!" called the mare, trotting down the stairs after a few seconds with a comb grooming her mane, before she opened the door, left the comb on a shelf, and trotted out, closing the door behind her.

-oOo-

Crystal Horn opened his eyes in the total darkness of his "room". He knew it was morning, even if being closed in a place without windows made it hard to judge; luckily he could faintly hear the sound of chirping birds and the voices of buisy ponies.

He blinked, sending away the rest of the lucid dream he had crafted when he had tried to rest again, after his shower in the middle of the night. At least he had managed to have a nap until now. After so long. A real rest, without being awoken by guards slamming their spears off the bars of the cell and tossing at him a plate full of boiling smashed mushrooms.

He rose up, tossing again the blanket and stretched his legs, before crawling around for a couple of seconds in search of the stairs.

Now, he had to find some ingredients, if he wanted to live long enough to see his plan come to fruition. So… herbs, but those were easy, he had seen different dried-up plants right in the basement, after all. He needed common plants, so he was probably going to get lucky. He also needed a fire, and that wasn't a problem: a candle was going to be fine.

The hard part, of course, was the blood. He would actually like not to have to chew his leg off. He shrugged, pushing open the door before stopping, dazzled by the sudden light filtering into the library.

"At least, I'm free." He thought, taking a deep breath. He moved his eyes around: he immediately noted the sleeping bag where the purple mare had passed the night, and the basket where probably the little dragon-slave probably slept. He gave a quick glance towards the kitchen, where he got a glimpse of the little dragon standing on a chair, washing a couple of plates in the sink.

Silently, the stallion walked past the kitchen, up the stairs. The previous day, he noted a balcony out of the room that the mare named as her own, forbidding him to enter. Yeah right. Well, she wasn't even here. That couldn't be so bad.

He entered silently, giving just a quick glance at the perfect room, stopping just a couple of seconds in front of the mirror above the low table on the other side of the bed. He stared with disapproval at the bags under his eyes and his rough mane.

"Come on Crystal… charm is the first weapon…" he murmured to himself, before turning towards the windowed doors and pushing them open, walking out onto the little balcony.

As he did so, a soft breeze stroked his muzzle, and the sound of the outside world surrounded him. He smirked, walking slowly to the edge and looking around: ponies walking, working and laughing were passing in the street below him, apparently unaware of his presence.

In all likelihood, since they hadn't seen him the day before, they thought he wasn't there, or something like that. "Closed and simple minds of slaves." Hissed the unicorn, before raising his violet eyes: a couple of birds were happily singing a few branches above him. He smiled again and stayed motionless there, only raising a foreleg a little. He remained without moving for several minutes, his eyes locked on the couple of birds. He was so concentrated on the birds, that he didn't immediately note the presence of the baby dragon staring at him, until Spike spoke.

"Uh… what exactly are you doing?" he asked suspiciosly, while holding a cup filled with tea in his clawed hands. The stallion jumped slightly, before turning towards the baby dragon, a hoof on his chest.

"You scared me!" he exclaimed, with a fake offended expression. The little dragon blinked, then narrowed his eyes.

"Right… here, Twilight told me to give you a cup of tea." He grumbled, placing the cup on the floor. "I didn't know what you wanted with your tea so… well, here's a couple of cookies." Muttered the dragon, placing a couple of yellowish disks of pastry encrusted in chocolate near the cup.

"They will do… just fine…" murmured the stallion with a shimmering in his eyes. "Thank you."

"Whatever…" muttered the little dragon, turning and almost running out of the balcony, into the room. Before leaving Twilight's room, he turned, and saw the unicorn smash a cookie with his hooves, before raising his forelegs in the air, holding the rest of the sweets on his hooves. Spike shrugged, then left.

Such a strange guy.

-oOo-

As the mare trotted calmly down Ponyville's main street, she couldn't avoid thinking of how many of the townsponies had already gotten over the fact that they were hosting the most infamous criminal of their nation in the city. They probably thought that he was locked away somewhere inside Twilight's home, unable to come out and menace their lives.

"They aren't too far from the truth." She muttered to herself, while waving her hoof at BonBon, on the other side of the road. "But sooner or later they will have to deal with him." she added to herself, letting her eyes gaze up at the sky, searching for a rainbow blur running around the sky.

She trotted along the street, her eyes glued to the sky, and didn't notice the other unicorn until she almost slammed into her.

"Darling, what's happened with your neck?" asked the melodic voice of Rarity, with a little smile on her muzzle, watching as the purple mare moved her gaze to her. "Searching for somepony dear?" she asked, smiling softly.

"Hello Rarity. I was searching for Rainbow. You know, I thought it could be good to let the… you know, the pony Celestia asked us to keep an eye on, meet our friends. Letting him fraternize with us, before the rest of Ponyville…"

"Oh… so in the end yesterday the princess delivered him..?" asked the candid mare, raising an eyebrow. "I must admit, I didn't see you yesterday with… him around, so I thought that maybe she didn't…"

"No no, she did. But seeing the reaction of all the ponies, I thought it wasn't a good idea letting him go around. And we also had to get to know each other a little, since the princess gave me the job of hosting him."

"So… how is that ruffian?" asked the mare, levitating out of the way a bag full of fabric, that she had probably just bought. "Did he try to escape or harm you?" she asked, a little concern in her voice. Typical of Rarity.

"Not at all. It's quite less scary than we expected. But it's kinda dangerous in other ways. So, that's why I was-"

"And you left Spiky with him?! What if he attack him?!" exclaimed the white unicorn. Twilight sighed slightly at her friend's continuous emotional explosions of emothivity.

"He's not going to attack any pony. He has his magic sealed, and even for a unicorn, he has an extremely weak muscular structure, the princess told me. Even I probably would be able to pin him down, not to mention the fact that I have my magic. Spike can handle him for some time, while I see who wants to meet him. on this note… Rarity, do you feel like it?" asked hopefully Twilight, leaning towards her friend.

"Oh dear, I would love to give you my support, but I'm afraid that I have some urgent work to do today. Maybe we can do it tomorrow? Or the day after tomorrow? When I have a little bit of time?" said quickly the other mare, moving her eyes around. Twilight sighed. No surprise there, she was reacting as she had expected.

"No problem Rarity. Whenever you want." She said. "Well, I'm going to find Rainbow then, then move on to the others. If she comes by, can you please tell her to find me?" she asked, while she started again to walk down the street.

"Of course the way, why don't you ask Pinkie? I'm sure she will be delighted at the idea of meeting a new pony. Even if he's…"

"I'm the one not ready for that!" called the purple mare with a smirk, walking away. Rarity gave a half smile, before turning too and walking towards her shop. Maybe she could find a couple of hours for Spiky though, and the gem hunt they had delayed the previous day.

-oOo-

As soon as Twilight had taken a few steps along the street leaving Ponyville, and leading to Sweet Apple Acres, she had quite the sight when she saw Applejack walking towards town, carrying her cart full of apples, and also Fluttershy, who was stomping along, and with a quite angry frown on her muzzle, towards town.

Of course, the most surprising thing was that the butter-coated pegasus was dragging a griffin by the tail. The purple mare blinked a few times, before rubbing her eyes and focusing again on the scene: Applejack was snickering to herself, while the pegasus was was muttering something, with the leonin tail of the griffin firmly grasped between her teeth.

"Howdy Twilight, how are ya?" bellowed the orange mare as soon as she saw the astonished unicorn in the middle of the road. Fluttershy raised her eyes and waved at the unicorn, while the griffin let out a groan. His leonine part was similar to Gilda's, even if the eagle part was quite darker, of a dark shade of brown, that shifted to gray on the neck and head. He was loaded up with a couple of belts full of arrows, crossbows, and metallic strings that the mare supposed were meant to work as traps, or something similar.

"Hi… girls… what's going on…?" she asked, still dumbfounded by the sight. Fluttershy spat out the tail of the griffin, who rose up growling, before immediately shutting up as the mare glared at him.

"I'll tell you what's going on here Twilight!" she said in a colder tone than usual. "I was feeding my animals, when I heard a ruckus coming from the edge of the forest. I was initially scared, thinking that maybe that could have been some sort of dangerous creature. But it also could be a wounded animal, so I… decided to check…and I found this griffin…" stated the pegasus, stomping a hoof on the ground (without much force) "-placing traps! There was a poor bunny closed in one of them, but he didn't care!"

"What, I have to care for every little pest that ends up in one of my traps now?" growled the griffin, unfurling his wings in an attempt to appear more menacing, failing horribly as the pegasus stared him down. Twilight caught a glimpse of a series of scars at the base of the wings.

"Yes you do! Who are you to claim the lives of innocent creatures?!"

"Listen… pegasus… thing… heck, can you please stop STARING at me?!" asked the griffin, taking a few steps away. The mare grunted, and turned her eyes away. "I was hunting timberwolfs, ok? I wasn't hunting rabbits!

"Well you are not only a meanie then…" started again Fluttershy, returning her stare at the griffin. Twilight was actually impressed by the pegasus' outburst. But the safety of the woodland creatures was one of the few subjects able to make her snap.

"Hey! Hunting timberwolves isn't illegal!" complained the griffin. "That's something like a social service!"

"…But you are also stupid! Timberwolves stay in the deepest zone of the forest, not on the border! And those traps aren't even authorized ones! Now you come with me to the mayor, and see if your hunting licence is in order."

"Fuck you! I don't have time for your sh-"

"And you kiss your mother with that beak of yours?! I should clean it with soap, mister!" snapped the mare, shutting up the griffin before he grumbled to himself, resigning to following the mare. Applejack let out another chuckle, before turning towards Twilight.

"Anyway sugarcube, where are you going?"

"Actually, I was looking for the both of you. I was thinking of introducing all of my friends to… well, my guest." She said, turning and walking along with the other two. Immediately Fluttershy covered her face with her mane, trembling a little, as Applejack adjusted her hat.

"Oh my…"

"I was thinking that may be good to let him meet somepony. And of course I'd like all of you to be the first. To help him begin his therapy." Said Twilight in an almost pleading tone. Applejack stared at her friend, before giving a quick glance at her cart full of apples.

"Oh shucks Twi, of course I'll meet him. But really quick, like now, so Ah can go sell mah apples pronto!" she finally stated, giving a little smile to the unicorn.

"I…I don't know Twilight… is… it is safe?" asked Fluttershy, her voice returned to her usual soft and nervous tone. "I mean, he did so many bad things, that's what the newspapers said…"

"I promise you Fluttershy, he won't be a menace of any sort." the unicorn with conviction. "But if you don't feel like it, I can understand that."

"No no… I'll bring this griffin to the mayor, and then I'll come…" she murmured, before pulling the griffin with her onto a side road, heading towards the town hall. "See you later…"

Twilight and Applejack waved, before continuing their walk towards the big tree that was Twilight's home.

"So… how is he?" asked after a few minutes the orange mare, giving a glance at the unicorn. "Is he the kinda guy that needs a little bit of force to stay in line? Because if ya need a hoof in that, I'm all in." She stated with a grin, moving a hoof in the air. Twilight gave another smile.

"I sure hope there will be no need for that…" she muttered, before giving out a smile as she saw a rainbow blur flying down from the sky, heading towards them. "And I see that Rarity managed to tell Rainbow I was searching for her."

"Why she ain't slowing?" asked Applejack, raising an eyebrow. Indeed, the pegasus that was Rainbow Dash was nearing them with alarming speed. Twilight sighed, and lit up her horn, stopping in mid air the pegasus just a few inches away from hitting them.

"Hehe. Thank you Twilight." She snickered, frozen in mid air by a dense purple cloud. "Got a little problem with my last move."

"Noted that." commented Twilight, letting her go, while behind her Applejack let out a little giggle. "I get that you didn't meet Rarity?"

"No, not yet? Why? Something going on?" asked the pegasus, landing and closing her wings.

"I was thinking of letting the… the guy Celestia brought here… meet all of my friends, to start his merging with the town. Since yesterday I was alone…"

"I get it, I get it… well… is AJ here for the same reason?"

"Ya bet!"

"Well, then who am I to refuse? Let's do it quick, though,, I have some more practicing to do." Stated the cyan pegasus, puffing out her chest. Twilight smiled and walked towards the carved wooden door of the library.

"Spike!? I'm back!" called the mare, stepping inside, followed by the two other mares, that had their heads raised, trying to look inside.

"Oh hey, I'm upstairs!" called the little dragon's voice. "Crystal Horn left all his stuff here, with a bunch of raisins… ugh. I'm brushing up here."

"Ok Spike, thank you. Where is Crystal?" asked Twilight, looking around, as if she hoped to find the stallion behind the first piece of furniture she found in front of her.

"He returned to the basement like ten minutes ago." Called again the voice of the little dragon, then followed by a groan: "Oh hay, he also left the tea..."

"What is he doing in the basement?" asked Applejack, following the purple mare towards the door that lead to the underground section of the tree.

"It's kinda his room."

"What about the guest room beside yours?" asked Rainbow, shaking her tail. Twilight didn't answer, tapping a hoof against the door.

"Crystal Horn? Are you there?" she called, raising her ears. She heard the fast sound of hooves hitting the ground, just before the door opened slightly and Crystal's muzzle poked out.

"Yes?" he asked softly, putting up a soft smile. The mare raised an eyebrow, then shrugged.

"I have somepony to introduce to you." She chirped, going for a positive approach, waving a hoof in Applejack and Rainbow's direction. The stallion gave them a quick glance before returning his eyes to the mare.

"That's nice but…err… I can't right now."

"What are you doing in there?" asked the mare, raising an eyebrow suspiciously. The stallion's eyes darted around, uneasy.

"Stuff…"

"What kind of stuff…?" asked again the mare, narrowing her eyes. Her horn began to light up.

"Stallion stuff. Sticky, stallion stuff." Answered bluntly Crystal Horn. The mare blinked for a couple of seconds, the gears in her head turning fast for a few seconds, eventually turning into a light bulb.

Twilight blushed violently, sitting abruptly on the ground and closing her eyes shut, as her horn lit up even more, pushing Crystal back inside the room and closing the door with a loud slam. For a few seconds Applejack and Rainbow could hear the sounds of the stallion rolling down the stairs, as well as his cursing, both ending in a loud crash.

-oOo-

"There wasn't the necessity to react with such violence." Said softly the stallion, after leaving the basement. The mares were sitting in the library, Twilight gulping down a glass full of apple-juice and determined to act as if nothing had happened. So she totally ignored Crystal's comment and turned towards the other two mares.

"Girsl, this is Crystal Horn. Crystal, these two are Applejack and Rainbow Dash." Introduced quickly the purple mare, without moving her eyes from her glass.

"Oh… the elements of Honesty and Loyalty, if I'm not mistaken." Said sweetly the stallion, hinting a bow. "A pleasure to meet you two."

"Is he mocking us?" asked the orange mare, raising an eyebrow. That wasn't evidently the reaction that the unicorn had been expecting, since his mouth gave a little twitch, even if he didn't drop his smile.

"Mocking? Why should I?" He immediately added: "I was just trying to be pleasant…"

"And trick us? I don't think so." Grunted Rainbow, flying into his face. "Now listen up buddy: the princess may have decided to give you a chance. But if you even think to try to trick any one of us, or… even do any bad stuff… if I ever had the idea you are plotting something… your face will have a close meeting with these two babies." Growled the mare, raising her forehooves in the air, showing them to the stallion.

"Same here partner. I'm gonna give ya the benefit of the doubt. But don't even think to come near mah house or mah little sister…" added the orange mare menacingly. Twilight sighed. She had expected that both of them would react like this, but still…

-oOo-

"Did you see that? I'm fine with all the licenses! I just made a mistake!" grunted the griffin, exiting from the town hall, followed by the yellow pegasus that had caught him.

"Yes… you were right… I'm sorry… I thought you were some sort of poacher…" she murmured, covering her face with her mane. "Well… sorry…" she muttered again, before walking slowly towards the enormous tree that towered over the houses of the little town.

McGash the griffin snarled, flapping his wings slightly, whiched flinched a little due to the scars. He growled. He had lost all of the morning's work due to that damned mare. Well, at this point he should find something to eat before returning to his hunting.

-oOo-

Fluttershy tapped slightly her hoof on the library's door, waiting for Twilight to open the door. Instead, it was Rainbow the one who answered the door.

"Oh. Hey Fluttershy!" she exclaimed with a half smile on her face. "Here to meet our little guest?" she asked, smiling supportively.

"I…I… yes I was… is it ok…?" muttered the mare, trying to peek inside the home.

"All fine and dandy. Here, come in." Said Rainbow, moving aside and letting the pegasus inside. "Just stay close, ok?"

"Ok…" muttered the mare, as the pegasus led her inside, towards a table where Applejack, Twilight, and a completely normal stallion were sitting. Fluttershy was slightly confused: that was a rather normal stallion, except for the strange, crystalline horn, and the strange cutie mark, but… where was the criminal?

"Here he is, Fluttershy!" said the other pegasus, as if she had read the yellow mare's thoughts. "This is Crystal Horn, our guest. Crystal Horn, this is-"

"Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness, I assume." Finished the stallion, raising an eyebrow. "Well… a real pleasure to meet you too." He said in a soft tone, standing up and walking towards the mare. Fluttershy was frozen, and didn't react as the stallion neared her, grasped one of her forelegs and kissed it. A moment later she fell to the ground, rigid as a piece of stone.

"Too much?" Crystal asked, turning towards Twilight, who nodded.

"Yes. A little bit too much for the first time."

-oOo-

McGash chewed happily on the sweets he had bought. Ponies were lame and useless in a whole lot of things, but baking wasn't one of them. Yes, it would have been better if he hadn't been served by the hyperactive pink mare… but well… at least he had sweets now. He stopped under the shadow of an enomrous tree and began to gulp one sweet after the other, studying the tree. It had windows in it. Stuff that you usually don't see in every tree around.

He was actually so distracted that he didn't immediately see a door opening in the trunk, as a purple unicorn and a cyan pegasus dragged out the petrified figure of the mare that had stopped him during his hunt. An orange mare followed them, exchanging some words, before attaching herself to a cart full of apples and walking away, before saying something like "I'll keep my eyes on you!" to the tree.

"Just don't mess around. If you are hungry, ask Spike, I'll be back as soon as we put back Fluttershy." Added the purple mare that was holding half of the motionless pegasus, speaking to a black stallion at the door. "Just please, don't go around. You see the effect you have on ponies."

"Tell her I'm sorry!" he called, as the little group walked away. The griffin snickered. Loser. He gave another peck to his meal, looking at the stallion that was still staring at the group of mares with a strange expression.

The griffin narrowed his eyes after a second, staring at him. There was something of familiar about him. The unicorn apparently felt that he was being, since he turned his eyes towards him.

"Hello there… McGash, was it? How are your wings?" he asked in a silky tone, smiling. The griffin almost choked on his sweets, recognising the unciorn.

"Don't worry griffin, I'm not going for revenge." Added the unicorn, smiling. "I'm just surprised to see one of the authors of my defeat."

"That makes two of us." Growled the griffin, standing up and taking a couple of steps. "Why are you here?"

" Rehabilitation." Stated the stallion with a smirk. "A princess' idea."

"Well, she didn't tell her subjects, apparently. While in the [hospital I heard about a big group of ponies wanting to put their hooves on you."

"And I'm sure they'll soon know my actual position?" asked the stallion, before turning. "Do as you wish. You are not of my interest anyway, so I don't need to stop you. And remember I'm under the princess' protection." He added with a snicker, closing the door behind him. The griffin growled, opening his wings.

"Oh heck if I'm going to tell them where you are…"

-oOo-

Crystal closed the basement door behind him, before pressing an ear against the wooden surface. No sound of the dragon-slave's steps. He turned and galloped down, to where a few candles were flickering, thanks to Spike's courtesy. A few had been tossed over the mattress, while a few feet away, an upside-down garbage trapped one of the two birds he had seen on the tree. Damned Twilight had interrupted him a few seconds before starting the ritual.

"Celestia's dog…" he muttered, adding a few insults in the zebra's language, before piling the plants together. He then went near the trash can, looking for the little bird. He had already broken its wings, to make it stay still, and also easier to hold. He cautiously moved the trash can, and immediately grabbed the bird by one of the wings. It didn't react. The pain was probably too much to even let it think to try to run.

He ragged the little bird over the pile, placing it above the top. He leaned over it, gently taking the little bird's head between his hooves. Swiftly, he broke the little neck, and immediately after, grasped a wooden splinter from the floor and stabbed the little body, breaking the still pumping, little heart, which began to splurt blood all over the pile.

"Marafiki, mimi namwomba, answer to my call!" he whispered, taking one of the candles and putting the flame to contact with the plants, which started to burn. The little fire quickly spread all over the plants and the bird's corpse, but strangely didn't touch the wooden floor. A thick, dense green smoke began to rise above the flames, starting to fill the room, as a series of whispers started to be heard from the flames.

Than, as if obeying a message, the smoke began to swirl in the air, before entering into the roots and wood around the stallion. The wood contorted and cracked, as a series of carved faces appeared all around him, their features marked by a greenish light, that showed cruel and narrow eyes and angry mouths.

"Friends! So good to see all of you again, after all this time!" cheered the stallion, his best smile over his face. Even if inside, he was shaking in fear. The faces didn't react, still staring at him. "I know I'm a little late with the payment of my debt…" started again the stallion. A few of the faces frowned even more, hissing. "…but, as you all surely know, my genius plan to repay you of all my debts… well, didn't end well." Finished the stallion, gulping.

"But, before you decide to reap and eat my soul, I want you all to hear me. You know that it wasn't my intention not to pay…" he continued, walking slowly in front of all the faces. A couple of them nodded, with a squeaky sound from the wood. "And… if you'll be so kind to give me a little more time, I'll be gladly end all this charade and pay my debt."

"Nini una kulipa marehemu?" the biggest of the faces asked harshly in a hissing tone, narrowing its eyes.

"What do I have to repay the delay? Well… maybe not all the souls of Equestria… but something that I'm sure you'll all find juicy… tell me… if I say 'Elements of Harmony' , what do you say?" He asked, with a slight smirk. The faces looked at each other, emitting some echoing noise of surprise.

"They are all here, in this very same village where I am. With my magic.. and the knowledge you all bestowed upon me, it'll be easy to take them." continued the stallion, his smirk enlarging. He had caught their interest.

"Now, the only problem is this thing." He continued, pointing at the ring on his horn. "I can't take it off, and you can't help me, since you can't with the living world so much… so, I'll need to have the mchawi wa jua to take it off." He continued. The faces growled.

"So… I need you to wait a little longer, 'till I manage to trick her, convince her that I'm one of her puppets. And then, I'll pay. Just a little more time." He ended, with a satisfied smile on his face. It was done.

The faces looked at each other, before all of them turned towards the bigger one, which gave a low growl. In a puff of green smoke, the spirit jumped out from the wood, placing himself in front of the stallion.

"Don't try to trick us… pony…" it hissed, while the other spirits left their positions, creating a curtain of green fog around Crystal Horn. "You'll pay us with the Elements' souls... or yours will be our meal! "

The stallion's face didn't change, still locked in a smile.

"So… do we have ourselves a deal?" he asked, raising a hoof. The spirits rumbled then emitted a hissing and echoing sound, swirling around the unicorn, before darting into the ground, disappearing. The little pile of fire went out suddenly, and the light of the other candles returned.

Crystal sighed in relief. And the nearest danger had been avoided.


	5. Chapter 5

Rarity tapped gently on the library's door, waiting patiently for an answer. She had found the opportunity to finish her orders sooner than expected, so now, she could go gem hunting with Spiky. Not that she really needed gems at the moment, but she had promised to the little dragon to go with him as soon she had a little bit of free time both from work and keeping an eye on her little sister.

Of course, she could have looked for Twilight to meet the… pony, that the Princess had brought into town. But poor Spiky had been waiting for this for sooo long… of course Twilight would understand.

"Twilight, dear? Spike?" she asked, tapping the door again. No response from inside. She lit up her horn and opened the door slowly, looking around. The library looked the same as usual. She stepped inside, her ears raised. "Anypony home?" she called.

"Oh! Rarity!" came the little dragon's voice from the upper floor, just a second before his little face poked out from the stairs. "What are you doing here? Twilight said you were going to be busy all day."

"Well, I thought so Spike but well, not to brag, but I was actually able to finish all the work sooner than expected. So, I remembered that yesterday we were supposed to go gem hunting, but due to… well, all the ruckus, I forgot about that."

"Oh, that wasn't a problem, Twilight needed me anyway." Reassured the little dragon, stretching his tail and blushing a little. The candid mare smiled at that view. So adorable.

"Well, a promise is a promise Spike." She said, radiant. The little dragon smiled ecstatically, before nodding happily.

"Cool! I'll be right there in a jiffy, wait a second though, got to finish cleaning the balcony. Be right there in a moment!" he exclaimed, smiling, turning and running up the stairs.

"Waiting for you right here Spiky!" singsonged the candid unicorn, fluttering her eyelashes. Such a lovely little guy. The mare was flattered by how much he enjoyed passing time with her. It kind of boosted her self-esteem. It was good to be desired, even by a baby dragon.

She started to look around, murmuring a song to herself, as the minutes passed. She was so concentrated on her tune that she didn't even notice the door of the basement open, and didn't acknowledge the presence of the unicorn stallion trotting out of there carrying a garbage bag in his mouth, until he let out a muffled salute.

"G'day."

Rarity's scream echoed through the tree house.

"Rarity, I'm coming!" screamed the little dragon, running down the stairs, his mop in his hands. He shouldn't have left the mare alone down there with the prisoner guy in the basement! He should have warned her…

The little dragon tripped on the last two steps, stumbling down the wooden stairs and slamming his head against the floor. He sook it, trying to refocus his eyes on the scene: Rarity was on one side of the room, pointing a trembling hoof at Crystal Horn, who was on the other side of the room, and staring at the mare in with disbelief.

"Rarity, I'm here!" called Spike, running towards her. "What happened."

"He…he…his mane!" muttered the mare, still staring with shock at the stallion. Crystal blinked.

"His mane! Look at it!" finally vocalized the mare, apparently taking back control of her body. "Darling, what have you lived through to have it in such a state?" she asked to the stallion, who just blinked again, probably unable to grasp the situation. "Scruffy as this! That's not good for a mane of such nice color!" called again the mare. "And your tail as well! It's like you didn't even bother to comb them!"

"Well I…" started the stallion as he dropped the trash bag, just a second before he was dragged by an azure magic grasp towards a cushion. With a little movement of her horn, Rarity placed there the stallion on the pillow, before turning towards Spike.

"I can't permit such a crime!" she declared. "Spike, be a dear and fetch me a comb, please. And a pair of scissors." She asked politely. Spike groaned, scratching his head.

"I don't know Rarity. See, he's…"

"Please?" asked again Rarity, fluttering her eyelashes.

"I'm on it!" stated the dragon, darting away.

"Don't you worry, I'll fix this mess over here." Reassured the mare, as Crystal blinked again, unsure on what was going on.

"Uh… well, thanks…" he finally stated. Evidently the mare didn't have any idea of who he was, since he doubted that she would have been so eager to help style his mane otherwise. He gave her a glance, studying the candid unicorn for a moment, stopping for a second on her flank, analyzing her cutie mark.

"I have the honor to speak to the Element of Generosity, Rarity, am I correct? He stated, his mouth curving in a slight smirk. He could play nice if he wanted. With such an oblivious pony, he could actually make an ally. He had to give a good first impression. Nothing too hard, he had passed years before the whole "site three-six" incident, working as a merchant. More or less.

"Why yes, yes, that is me!" exclaimed happily the mare, smiling. "So nice to have someone actually recognize one of us. You know, not that we like to use our position… but it's like no pony knows that we saved Equestria a few times!" she complained, while starting to strain Crystal's tail with her magic.

"Well, apparently I'm the only one that actually reads the newspapers then." Chuckled the stallion. He caught the little smile on the unicorn face. This was going to be easy. A pony just pleading for attention and recognition.

"But tell me, who are you?" asked the mare, still stroking and straightening the stallion's hairs. Crystal gulped.

"Here's the comb and the scissors, Rarity." Chirped Spike, rushing down the stairs and handing them to the white unicorn.

"Thank you Spiky. Sorry for the delay, but I simply cannot see a gorgeous mane like this treated in such a manner." She declared, immediately starting to comb the argentine and wite mane of the stallion, while lifting the scissor in the air and snipping off some hairs that had grown longer than the others.

"Well, thank you miss Rarity." Purred the stallion, staying still as the mare continued to take care of his mane. "I usually tend to have great care for my aspect, but… after recent events, I didn't have any occasion to do anything about it."

"Oh, poor dear, that must be awful." Cooed the mare, brushing Crystal's mane, as the little dragon glared at him, snarling. Crystal grinned even more. "Well, I'm glad to help a pony look at his best." She said, passing a hoof through the stallion's mane, cutting skillfully a couple of hairs.

"Wow… you are such an amazing pony…" stated Spike, his face contorted into an adoring expression. "To be so generous even to a pony like him…" he stated, pointing flatly at the stallion.

"Mh? What do you mean, Spiky?" asked the mare. Crystal's eye twitched slightly, but he didn't react.

"I mean… even if he's a criminal, you just don't care, you are eager to help him anyway. I'm sure there aren't a lot of ponies eager to do that."

Crystal's ear flichered as the snipping sound of the scissors stopped a few inches from it. Now here was the most delicate part. He had to be careful, considering that the mare had a pair of scissors. He had read that the Element of the Generosity was quite the mundane type of pony, so she probably wouldn't end up being violent. But better not to take any chances.

"So… you are the one, huh?" asked the mare behind him, the scissors restarting their job, as well as the comb, even if now she wasn't paying very much attention to not pulling his mane. "You are different than I expected."

"I know, right? Even Twilight was, like, totally shocked when the Princess delivered him!" agreed Spike. "I mean, she was expecting something like Discord, probably."

"If I have to be honest Spike, so did I." muttered the candid mare, continuing her work. "Certainly I wasn't expecting a normal looking pony."

"I can imagine that a knowledge of the world taken from novels and ignorance may give such a simplistic vision of existence." Thought the stallion, but he didn't say anything, lowering his ears and his eyes.

"Yeah… that's me…" he muttered. "Not really proud about that." he added, lowering his voice a little, putting a little crack in his sentence. He noted the little hint of compassion and curiosity in the mare's face. Well, apparently the studies of psychology he had done to enter the facility were quite useful for tricking even well-adjusted ponies.

"I'm… quite ashamed of what I have done, even if the princess quite clearly doesn't believe me." He added, sighing. The fact that the mare was quite a melodramatic character meant she was more keen to believe a melodramatic act. "I just did what I thought was a good idea."

"Killing ponies, a good idea?" asked the mare, pulling the comb and stirring his mane, causing a twinge of pain.

"I don't know what lies were said about me, but I never killed anypony!" he exclaimed, stomping a hoof on the ground. Well, he actually had killed a couple of prisoners that didn't want to obey him, but generally he never hurt anyone. The dirty work wasn't his thing, after all.

"You forced ponies to hurt other ponies! Ponies that didn't do anything wrong!" exclaimed Spike, evidently not happy of being cut out from the conversation. Crystal bit his tongue, restraining himself from describing him what kind of had been hosted at the site. But Celestia had explained to him, with colorful metaphors, what would happen to him if he revealed to the ponies the exact nature of the site.

"I… know that was wrong… but I was kinda… forced." He finally muttered. "I'm no hero like you Elements. I'm a coward. And the choice was saving or not saving my own life." Yes, it was kinda like that, but less forced.

"Forced by who?" asked the mare, beginning to comb the stallion's mane behind his ear. "I'm sure that if you explain that to the princess, she would be happy." The stallion opened his mouth, but said nothing as soon as he heard the door opening again.

"I'm happy to see you so eager to meet him Pinkie, but again, try not to be overly friendly. Remember what the princess said in her letter." Sounded the voice of Twilight.

"Oh, come on Twilight, we thought Zecora was a meaniehead too, and then she turned out to be nice!" answered an acute and joyful voice.

"Well, yeah, but Zecora never hurt anypony. He actually did bad things."

"Maybe he's sorry!" chirped the second voice, just a moment before Twilight and a bright pink mare entered the room. Wobbly mane and tail, baloons as her cutie mark… she was probably the Element of Laughter. The pair of mares froze at the edge of the room, looking at the motionless stallion sitting ona cushion, while the other unicorn combed and styled his mane.

"Hello Rarity!" called happily the pink mare, hopping towards her. "Hello Spike!" she added, noticing the little dragon sitting on the stairs. "Hey unicorn that I don't know the name of!" she finally ended her circle of greetings.

"Rarity, I thought you didn't have time today." Stated Twilight, following the other mare, eyeing the scissors skillfully cutting the uncared-for mane of the stallion.

"I thought so too, but I finished faster than expected. So I decided to take Spike on the gem hunt I promised him. and by chance, I met him." stated the mare, gesturing at Crystal.

"Well… that's good then. At least you didn't try to pick up a fight with him." muttered the purple mare.

"Or faint." Added Crystal.

"Wait. Wait, why would anypony faint?"

"Fluttershy."

"Oh. That would explain that." nodded the pink mare, before darting in the face of the stallion, smiling. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! What's your name?" she asked, an enormous smile on her face. Wonderful, another weak mind to use to his advantage.

"My name is Crystal Horn." Answered warmly the stallion, stretching his mouth into a happy smile. "But my friends just call me Crystal."

"Can I call you Crystal?" asked immediately the mare, leaning towards him, her eyes big as plates. The unicorn restrained a laugh. This was going to be so damn easy. Well, if they were alone, probably. But Twilight was quick to drag the pink pony away from Crystal.

"Not now, Pinkie. Don't forget what I told you about him." she stated, eyeing the stallion suspiciously. Evidently, she suspected him of using some sort of trick to get the pink pony on his side so fast. A legitimate suspicion, had they been, if they were talking about anypony other than Pinkie Pie.

"Well, I'm done here." Stated Rarity, trying to loosen the tension. "It's not my best work, but at least now your mane doesn't resemble a nest of parasprites." She said, dropping the comb and scissors on a shelf. "You may want to check yourself." she added, smiling. Crystal passed a hoof through his mane, before nodding and trotting out of the room.

As soon as he disappeared from view, Twilight turned towards Rarity, a slight frown on her muzzle.

"What happened while I wasn't here?" she asked inquisitively. "Did he do anything?"

"He did nothing." Groaned Spike, jumping off the stairs. "Rarity, just being the generous pony she is, she decided to fix his mane. Nothing else. Can we go gem hunting now Rarity?" he asked almost pleadingly to the candid mare, who grabbed him with her azure aura and placed him on her back.

"Of course Spiky, sorry for the delay. Oh Twilight, one thing. He… spoke a little, without us actually asking anything… he said he was ashamed of what he did…" whispered Rarity, leaning towards Twilight, who raised an eyebrow.

"That's interesting… I'll write about this to the princess later. He may be lying, but she may want to know about this anyway." She finally muttered. Rarity nodded, before turning and trotting towards the door, waving a hoof to her firends.

"We'll be back before dark." She called, before opening the door and exiting the tree house. Crystal's eye flickered from upstairs, as he eavesdropped the conversation. It was almost cute how naive these ponies were. Sure, Twilight was going to be extremely hard to convince of his "will to change", since her opinion was going to be influenced by the princess. But he had time to work on it. He turned towards the bathroom, taking in his mouth the trash bag with the carbonized dead bird and plants he had used for his ritual.

If they found it, it would be a little… counterproductie for his image. But at least, he had apparently convinced the Element of Generosity. And probably Laughter too.

This was going to be good, after all.


	6. Chapter 6

The Princess of the Sun yawned, as she walked out onto one of the castle's balconies, flapping her wings in the chill air. While raising a cup of coffee to her mouth, she slightly bowed her head as her horn shimmered. Slowly, the blazing orb that was the sun rose gradually above the far away skyline, while the moon descended beneath it, on the other side of the sky.

"Good morning sister." She said to her sibling, as the dark blue alicorn landed on the balcony, yawning as well.

"Good morning to you, Tia." She mumbled, before yawning again and stretching her wings. "Well… I think I'll go sleep…" she mumbled, yawning again. "It was a stressful night."

"Did you have any luck?" asked Celestia innocently, while taking a little sip from her cup. Luna glared at her, frowning.

"Tia, I have other things to do, other than try to peek inside that pony's dreams. And also, I had already tried, it didn't work, so why waste more energy on that?" she asked, while grabbing the cup with her magic grasp and taking a sip of coffee as well.

"Well… maybe you were luckier this night." muttered Celestia. Her sister rolled her eyes.

"Tia, I said it's useless, because he usually sinks into lucid dreams, during sleep. Since he maintains control over his dreams, and it's not a proper part of the oneiric dimension, I can't enter into it. And I already said that trying to force the information we want out of his brain with magic or spells is useless."

"We have to try every way." Muttered Celestia, a hard expression on her muzzle. Luna studied it for a couple of seconds, before taking another sip. She was aware of how eager her sister was to protect Equestria, and by extension how badly she wanted to know all the secrets inside Crystal Horn's mind. She was afraid of him.

Not afraid of him as a pony. He was weak, even for a unicorn, and not particularly gifted in magic, even in spite of fact that his special talent was something as peculiar as being an expert of zebra vodoo magic. No, she was afraid of the fact that she didn't know who or what leaded him to try to poison all the water in Equestria.

Luna frowned as well, as she remembered the first time they had both met him, after his capture: they had simply planned to convince him to confess who convinced him to do such a thing, but he politely refused to speak. In the end, they tried simply to crack open his mind and take that information from his brain.

The sodliers had already tried that but, as they reported, his mind had resisted their assaults. When Celestia tried, he didn't even try to protect himself, probably aware that he couldn't stop her.

But apparently something else did. Celestia asked for Luna's help too, but even combined, they were still forced out of the stallion's mind. a thick and heavy curtain of magic had firmly held the two princesses back. They tried and triedmercilessly attacking the barrier, even if it evidently took its energy from the stallion itself, who after a couple of minutes was rolling on the floor of the interrogation room, screaming in pain.

Luna had been the one to stop, and stop Celestia as well, when the stallion had begun to beg them to kill him to end the pain. No pony was able to fake pain and distress so well. Whoever had tried to use him to curse all Equestria, apparently didn't have much interest in Crystal's own safety, since it had allowed him to suffer tremendous pain just to keep its identity a secret.

That was the episode that had led Luna to have a little bit of sympathy for the criminal. If whoever guided him also had so little care for him, no wonder that he tried to do such horrendous crimes.

They just had to show him that he could trust them, even if Celestia wasn't really keen on this advice, apparently.

"For now, Twilight's reports are calm. I just hope he's not using her." Celestia mumbled, shaking Luna out from her memories. "Maybe I should let a couple of disguised guards go to Ponyville, just for…"

"Tia, you have to trust what Calm Wave told you, and give that pony a chance." Stated Luna, passing the cup to her sister. "And now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go to take a nap."

-oOo-

"Morning." Called Twilight, when the stallion entered grumpily into the kitchen, probably drawn by the smell of cupkakes and tea that was filling the air. Crystal mumbled something, before dropping heavily in front of the table.

"Why did you have to wake me up so early?" he mumbled, eyeing a cupkake. His horn shone a little, before the ring around his horn shimmered with red light and suppressed his magic. Crystal groaned and raised a hoof to the table, dragging the sweet to his face, which he had dropped to the wooden surface, his eyes hardly open.

"Well, you've been here for almost four days now, and your only contact with other ponies was the one you had the second day."

The stallion groaned.

"So, I have talked with the mayor, and decided to find you an occupation, to keep yourself active and let you meet some other ponies apart than me." The stallion rose his head slightly, looking the mare. "A job." She explained. The stallion groaned again.

"And what kind of job is it?" he asked, giving another bite to the sweet.

"Oh, you know, a little help inside the Town Hall… they'll appreciate a couple of hooves to help them with all the paperwork."

"Joy." Stated the stallion. The mare wasn't able to understand if he was being sarcastic or not. "Well, back in the… facility… I had to do a lot of paperwork, so I assume I might be able to do something good." He added, his muzzle opening in a warm smile. The mare rose an eyebrow, not totally convinced, but decided to let it slide for now, and returned to her tea.

"Very well then. Prepare yourself, and I'll accompany you to the Town Hall. Maybe we can also take a trip around Ponyville. After all, you haven't seen the town at all."

"What for? I can't even leave here. At least, not alone, but being escorted like a foal." Snapped the stallion. He glared for a couple of seconds at the mare, before returning to his calm and smiling face. "Don't waste your time." He added. The mare studied him for a little, one of her eyebrow raised.

"You should really be grateful for the chance the Princess is giving you, you know?"

"Inaweza sikukuu buu juu ya mwili wako." muttered the stallion.

"What was that?"

"I was being thankful."

"Sure you were." Said Twilight, frowning slightly and making a mental note to look for a book for helping her to understand all his muttering in the zebra language.

-oOo-

Mayor Mare? Really? That was her name? I could hardly believe that. When you talk about being destined for something…

That annoying pet of the princess dragged me towards the town hall as she had promised. Since it was just dawn, there was no pony around the town. It was something I appreciated: large crowds aren't my thing, but I suspected that Twilight hadn't decided to take me out at that hour because of that.

Most likely, it was to hide me from the eyes of the weak minded peasants. During the trip to the governing building of the town, while the mare continued to blab about a lot of things I didn't care about at all, I thought back to two days before, making a summary of the situation.

Thanks to Twilight's ingenuity, I had the opportunity to meet all of the elements. If I still had my magic…

The first two she introduced to me weren't really friendly, but it was quite obvious I made them nervous. And for the yellow pegasus, it was pretty clearly the same. The white one seemed to be a little sympthetic towards me and my story, and that was good. The pink one… evidently had some sort of mental disorder. In another place she would have probably been a serial murderer or something. But for now, she was another naive mare eager to befriend me, and all of this played in my favor. I just had to keep playing my part, until the sun witch would have trusted me. And then, I would pay my debt and go on my way.

I was so concentrated on this joyous image that I didn't immediately notice that we had arrived, and that a couple of mares were now talking to us.

A gray one with a short black mane styled in a knot, wearing a pair of glasses, and a dark beige one with a…strange wavy gray mane, clearly colored.

Mayor Mare.

I didn't comment on it. It took me a lot of effort to do so.

"So... Crystal Horn, after a report from the Princess, I and Twilight have thought that you could be quite useful in here." She was saying, when I reconnected with reality. "You can start with these documents on the division of the Apple family's fields into lots. It's a work we fell a little bit behind on, so you may have a little bit to do…" stated the mare, pointing at a low table where a pile of paper rested, higher than two ponies one atop the other.

"Is that…all my paperwork?" I asked, feeling the blood leave my face.

"Oh, no no no… there is actually that, too." Added the mature mare, pointing to another three piles resting against the wall behind me.

-oOo-

Twilight trotted out of the town hall with the image of the traumatized muzzle of the stallion in her mind. Evidently the idea of staying motionless for hours compiling paperworks wasn't in his list of fun things to do.

"It's for his own good." Muttered the unicorn to herself. She was doing a good job all in all, both as a guardian and a caretaker. Even if it had only been just few days, she was sure that he was starting to fit in, little by little.

After all he was polite and always calm, almost in a creepy way. Even if she had discovered that he was a little grumpy when awakened early in the morning. But on that subject, she was sure that it was something common. Rarity was quite grumpy too when she woke up early.

The princess didn't say anything worrisome after her reports, so she was extra sure she was doing great. And now, she had just introduced Crystal Horn to a job! Right on the fourth day!

"Friendship really is magic!" she muttered to herself. "Celestia will be so proud of my work." She was so busy happily cheering herself on that she didn't actually notice the equine in front of her until she slammed into her.

"Ouch! I'm sorry…" started the unicorn, stumbling back and massaging her head.

"Twilight Sparkle, no need to be sorry. I wasn't watching either, so don't you worry." chanted a familiar voice. As soon as the unicorn raised her eyes, she found that Zecora was standing in front of her, smiling.

"Hi Zecora! What are you doing in Ponyville? At such an early hour, I mean!" exclaimed happily the unicorn. The zebra smiled, gesturing towards the saddlebags she was carrying, and also to a little glass bottle she was holding on one of her hindhooves. Twilight could see a thin strand of liquid inside it.

"Harvesting ingredients, like rare and pure morning dew. That's it for me, but what about you?" asked the zebra, examining the unicorn.

"Oh… well, I was escorting Crystal Horn to his new job and…" She stopped herself at the confused expression of the zebra.

"At Pinkie Pie's party I never paid much attention I'll admit, but this Crystal Horn pony you speak of, I never heard of it."

"Well…" muttered the unicorn, before starting to explain to Zecora the situation. After all, living isolated inside the Everfree, she was completely unaware of one of the news that had shaken all of Equestria. She listened to all the explanation with a neutral expression, until the mare finished.

"…And so, even if he was going to… do something bad to Equestria, the Princess decided all the same to give him a chance for rehabilitation, and sent him here, under my care."

"An interesting story from the outside nation. Of such a thing, I had heard no declaration." Commented the zebra. "A peculiar situation I must say, but I'm sure you'll be able to stop him from going astray."

"I hope so." Smiled the unicorn, before a thought came to mind. "Oh, Zecora! He seems to know the zebra mother language very well, and he's also an expert in all of your… traditions. Maybe he'll be happy to meet a zebra!" she exclaimed, smiling. Zecora studied the happy face of the unicorn for a moment, before smiling as well.

"If you think it might help, I'll come at your home, after I find a few more ingredients during my roam." She finally answered, opening in a warm smile.

"Thank you Zecora!" chirped the purple unicorn.

-oOo-

Almost all day. Almost all day sitting in the same spot, doing paperwork. He had to deal with it also in the facility too, but at least there it had been interesting, with all the profiles off mass murderers and mad ponies. Here, there was just a continuous streams of field measurements, taxes, accounts and other bunches of numbers.

He had already switched off his brain around ten in the morning, doing his work like a machine, as his mind spaced out. So, he didn't notice Twilight immediately when she entered into the hall, until she stopped in front of him.

"Hi Crystal." She stated, smiling. "I'm here to take you home." She added, taking a few steps towards the table. "How did it go?"

The stallion spat out the pen he was holding in his mouth, and looked at the pile of paperwork. He wasn't even halfway done with the first pile.

"It would be quite easier with my magic." He answered, while walking away from the table. "I'm not good with writing with my mouth, like an earth pony might be." He stated, striding beside the unicorn mare and rolling his eyes. "I just feel like a little foal, barely able to write."

"Well… I'm sure it was a constructive experience, right?" asked the mare, but she received only a sigh in answer. "Well, I'm sure you'll have time to refine this ability. Remember that it's now your full time job."

"I suppose I couldn't really expect anything better." Shrugged the stallion. Twilight stayed silent, avoiding saying that she had initially planned to deliver him to Sweet Apple Acres, so Applejack would have been able to look after him. But she had been forced to discard that idea both because of the weak structure of the unicorn, and the firm and strong denian of the farm mare. She didn't feel like letting a criminal near her home and her family.

Twilight doubted he would have tried something, with somepony like Big Mac around, but she could understand her friend point. Luckily, the mayor was glad to keep an eye on him, as he spent his time in the town hall, and she didn't need to call for her help or anything, showing that her… guest… had behaved good.

"So… did they give you something to eat, or do you want something now?" asked the mare, as they both left the building and ehaded into the street. The stallion didn't answer, narrowing his eyes and looking at the multitude of ponies. She stared at him worriedly for a second, before he returned his attention to the mare.

"I'm fine." He answered, suddenly calm and smiling, as if finally seeing part of the rest of the population of the town had raised his morale. Twilight slightly raised an eyebrow, but didn't reply.

"Ok then… let's go home. I have a surprise for you." she said, smiling, and catching the stallion's attention.

"Did the wi… Princess send any of my things?" he asked, a hint of hope in his voice.

"Well… I'm afraid not… although I can ask for some of them. You have behaved quite good, I think she'll be happy to send something. But no, that's not what's waiting for us." Answered the mare, as they arrived in front of the tree house.

"Spike, we are home!" called the mare, when she opened the door with a flash of magic. "Did anypony come while I was gone?"

"Nope." Answered the muffled voice of Spike, as the baby dragon emerged from the kitchen, his mouth filled with half-chewed gems. "Are we waiting for someone?" he asked, gulping down the gems and waving slightly his hand at the stallion, who ignored him.

"Yes, I asked Zecora to stop in here. I figured that maybe Crystal would appreciate meeting her." answered the mare. "Since he has demonstrated that he's well aware of zebra language and culture, judging by the books he always chooses from the library, I thought he might appreciate this."

"I guess so." Shrugged the little dragon, before opening in a bright smile. "But look at this: Rarity passed when you were out, looking for a book, and gave me a whole lot of gems!"

"I hope you didn't eat them all! You'll spoill your appetite." scolded the mare, while looking for the stallion and spotting him inside the library, occupied with reading a book on the types of plants disposition in Equestria for the second time. A pony with a thousands interests, she had to admit.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft banging at the door, followed by another series of bangs, much harder this time. The mare turned and trotted towards the door, opening it: outside, the first thing Twilight noticed was Pinkie Piewho dashed inside as soon as the door was opened without even saying hello. Behind the pink pony, Zecora was looking slightly amused at how fast the poofy mare ran inside, presumably searching for the stallion.

"I see that Pinkie has no problem with the stallion you spoke to me of, and I assume she must be doing her best to share Ponyville's love."

"Well… you know how she is." declared Twilight, before letting the zebra enter her house. "Come on. I'm sure he'll be happy." She added, guiding the zebra in towards the main room, where Pinkie was occupied talking without opause to the dumbfounded stallion, who was staring blankly at her.

"Crystal, this is Zecora!" called loudly the unciorn, catching the stallion's attention. Crystal's eyes moved away from the mouth of the pink mare, as she continue to blabber about her favourite flavour of cake, and stopped on the zebra. He examined for a second the golden rings around her neck, before he raised to his legs and walked towards them, the pink pony still happy bouncing around him.

"Afya pundamilia" he said softly, bowing his head slightly. The zebra tilted her head, before bowing her own in return.

"Such long time since I last heard my native tongue, and it reminds me of many other things that long have gone unsung" stated softly the zebra. The stallion smirked slightly. Another one on his side…

The zebra shifted her eyes a little, and stopped them on the cutie mark on the stallion's hip. Her eyes immediately widened a little. The stallion noted that, and tried to move his body slightly to hide his flanks. Twilight exchanged a look between the two.

"A similar mark I personally have never seen, but as with every zebra, I well know what it does mean." She said with a scowl. "You are a nyeusi mchawi, on that there is no doubt. Is that what the fear of your princess' are all about?" asked the zebra, turning her head towards Twilight. The mare blinked, confused both by the zebra's words and the furious expression on Crystal's face.

"What are you talking about…?" asked Pinkie, her babbling, feeling the tension rising in the room.

"That mark is related to our darkest art; seeing it on a pony freezes my heart. Even between zebras, it's rare as air is thin, a pony should not have such a power within." Said the zebra, taking a step back. For the first time, Twilight had the clear impression Zecora was actually scared. Or at least, uneasy. Crystal Horn didn't say anything, continuing to stare at the zebra, while Pinkie let out a little giggle.

"Now now Zecora, you are clearly mistaken. It is justa doll. He's probably super-duper good at making toys, or dolls, or sewing in general! Hey, maybe you can let him work with Rarity!" she chirped, jumping in place.

"Twilight can I have a word with you? I would appreciate it right now too." asked the zebra, giving a glare to the stallion, before almost dragging the unicorn out of the room. As soon as they entered the kitchen, where Spike was cooking dinner, she turned to the purple mare. "Twilight, did he do something strange, or did you fell in your surrounding any kind of change?" she asked, darting her eyes around.

"What?! No! Zecora, calm down, his magic is sealed, remember? He can't do anything." Tried to reassure the unicorn. Zecora returned her eyes on the mare.

"His kind of magic requires a different method to defend, since he doesn't necessarily need a horn to hurt or offend. He likely is able to be compared to me, when talking of potions or a natural remedy. But he probably is capable of doing even worse, probably just by making a doll, to target a killing curse."

"Zecora, what are you talking about?!" exclaimed the mare in exasperation. She hadn't expected events to turn out like this. The zebra continued to stare at her, while Spike had stopped his preparing, listening to the two, while from the stove had started to rise a thick, black smoke.

" I suggest you to contact the princess, and see what she has to say. The solution for suh a problem may be worse than finding a needle in a stack of hay. Since he can just brew potions to reproduce magical effects, and this makes him dangerous in many different respects"

"I'll… do that. Thank you Zecora…" muttered the mare. She was quite skeptical of what Zecora was saying, but with such a…criminal, she couldn't really be sure. "Zecora… I might need a little bit more of your help."


	7. Chapter 7

"Look mom, look!" chirped the voice of the little foal as he trotted over the wooden planks, his prey flying hopelessly in its shimmering bubble of magic. He almost tripped on a rugged black top hat with a purple band around it, holding a scarlet feather. He regained balance just a second before stopping in front of the female equine.

"Crystal, you shouldn't run around home like this, you'll end up tripping somewhere." She said softly, ruffling the little foal's messy mane. The little foal giggled, then moved the bubble of magic, showing his caught: a little firefly was imprisoned in the bubble.

"Look mom, I catch a firefly! This is the first firefly of the swamp!" he exclaimed excitedly. "Now we can brew that potion for the frog hunter family! So we can have frog meat again!"

"Well done Crystal!" praised the female, again ruffling the little foal's mane, before softly pushing the bubble towards a half cracked shelf, where some books were messily piled, along with a series of vials filled with colored liquids and a big jar full of fireflies. Swiftly, she opened the jar and pushed the bubble inside, before closing it up again.

Crystal Horn smiled and closed his eyes, concentrating: with a little pop, the bubble disappeared, leaving the firefly with its new friends.

"But you shouldn't have gone out without me." His mother then scolded, frowning slightly. "What if there was a crocodile nearby?"

"I was on the balcony! I made the bubble far away!" explained the little foal with pride, puffing his chest out, and he smiled when his mother's eyes widened in amazament.

Well, not really his mother. He was young but he wasn't stupid: he knew he was a unicorn, and that a unicorn had ponies for parents. His mother was a zebra. A strong zebra with a long, candid mane and a pair of sweet, golden eyes, that he always loved. She said that the spirits sent him to her. Maybe. He just knew she loved him. For that matter, he loved her too.

They lived in the middle of a swamp. An enormous, endless swamp. Well, not really endless, but he never saw outside the expanses of putrid water and trees that surrounded their home.

They lived in a big palafitte above the level of the water, in a dark zone of the swamp. His mother had built it all by herself, before he came to her. It was built from squeaky wood, and at some point, some boards had rotted or fallen apart, while others were weakening or covered in mush, giving the hut a peculiar, strong smell.

The smell of home.

A lot of rooms of the house were filled with books and materials for his mother's potions. Tufts of plants hung from the ceiling, as well as dessicated pieces of animals, along with jars full of seeds and colorful dust, and in some cases smaller animals drowned in preserving liquid. The only place that didn't have any ingredients laying around was the bedroom that Crystal and his mother shared. Ok, there was the jug full of fireflies, but that didn't really count as an ingredient.

"That's amazing Crystal, well done! I knew that this horn would mean something! It's just a question of days, and you'll get your cutie mark, I can tell!" cheered the zebra, smiling. "You are getting better and better with your magic, which is impressive considering I can't teach you anything." Chirped the zebra, kissing the little foal's forehead. "That calls for a special dinner!" she called, striding out of the room, followed by the little foal.

"No frogs' legs, I'm afraid. But a swamp grub will be fine too, yes?" she asked, while walking down the squeaky stairs, followed by Crystal, who nodded happily. He had read that ponies didn't eat meat, but the swamp wasn't generous with food, and they had to get what they could. And all in all, meat was tasty.

Usually his mom traded it with a group of ponies that roamed around the swamp as well, living not that far away. He had seen them a couple of times. They were earth ponies, and were funny ponies, even if they smelled strange. His mom gave them potions for healing them from sickness and diseases, and they gave them food.

"Now… that pot is for the potion, that one is dirty…ah-ha!" exclaimed the zebra, grabbing a dark cauldron and pulling it out from a pile of stoveware. "Crystal, be a dear and fetch some clean water, we should still have some. And while you are at it, grab a couple of spiders."

"Ok mom!" exclaimed the little foal, turning and running out the room. As he did so, he passed beside a tall, black stallion with a silver and white mane and tail, who was watching at the scene. Crystal Horn looked at his young self running away happily, with not a worry in the world.

He sighed, as the memory started to vanish. As he felt his conscious self returning to his body, the stallion sighed.

Good times.

When he emerged from his lucid dream and returned to reality, he was greeted by the darkness of the basement where he was now living. He yawned and didn't move, letting his eyes wander around, trying to what objects were around him by their shape, as his legs twitched slightly with his stirring.

Sitting still for hours in a place while examining piles and piles of papers didn't really help his muscles to stay in shape.

"Another couple of days and my ass is going to become a square." He thought, while finally standing up and starting to climb up the stairs. He could hear the sound of ponies moving around. Why didn't the purple mare wake him up?

-oOo-

The purple mare in question had just finished drinking her tea, and was now washing the cup in the sink, while the little dragon put the rest of the breakfast away. Just a last cup filled with tea and a couple of sweets were still on the table, waiting for Crystal Horn.

"Shouldn't you call him?" asked the little dragon after a few moment, while glaring greedily at the two cookies.

"He deserves a little bit of sleep after everything. there is no need to rush today." Stated calmly the mare. The little dragon licked his lips.

"There is a rush if he wants to have his cookies."

The mare giggled, then turned, walking towards the basement, ready to call for the stallion. But before she could do so, a loud knocking sounded from the door. That was unexpected. Since the library was still closed at that hour, no one would have any reason to come by. Except for the mail pony. She smiled, as she turned towards the door, opening it with a flash of purple magic.

"Hello Derp…" she started, before stopping: instead of the usual gray coated pegasus, in front of her there was an orange coated one. She had never seen that mare before, nor the big stallion behind her. The mare that was in front of her had a slight frown on her face, while holding in her mouth a wooden clipboard covered in papers. The stallion was a really tall and well build candid pegasus with an orange and scarlet mane resembling fire, and he was attached to an enormous closed cart with an envelope carved on its sides. Twilight had the impression that a stump emerged from the stallion's forehead, but as soon as she narrowed her eyes to look better, the stallion casually moved his head, letting his mane fall in front of his face.

"Twilight Sparkle?" muttered the mare, raising an eyebrow. Twilight returned her attention to the mare.

"That's me. What can I do for you?" asked the unicorn, smiling. The mare dropped the clipboard and marked a name.

"I'm Smooth Heart, from Quick Mail and Package Delivery. We have an urgent delivery for you from Canterlot. So urgent, in fact, that we had to change our scheduled course." She stated with a slight frown. "Anyway, I need a couple of signatures here, here and here." she continued, pointing at the paper, before holding out a pencil. Twilight grasped it and signed the paper, looking curiously at the cart.

"From Canterlot? what is it?" she asked, while giving back the pencil to the pegasus. The mare shrugged.

"You may not believe me, but it isn't our policy to peek inside the mail, you know?" she stated ironically, before turning towards her companion. "Blaze, be a dear and get order number five please." She said, gesturing at the cart. The stallion nodded and turned, trotting calmly towards the wagon. Twilight noted that his cutie mark was… a serial number? Weird.

"Here it is!" cheered the stallion, walking towards them and bringing with him a slightly-squished package in his hooves, plus a cylinder. "Order five is here." Twilight smiled, thanking them as she grasped both with her magic. The mare gave a quick salute before turning towards the stallion.

"Ok Blaze, take the cart and let's move on. We have to fly to Trottingham now, and it's not really close."

"Yes ma'am."

"Would you stopping calling me that?" asked the mare, slightly annoyed, as Twilight returned inside.

"I just love when you get angry."

"Whatever."

Twilight closed the door, and examined what the pair of pegasi had given her. She noted a piece of parchment clipped to the flat package, so she started to read it, while levitating all the containers with her and entering the kitchen.

"Morning." She called, as she noted with the tail of her eye Crystal sitting on the other side of the table, sipping his tea. He answered with a groggy, unintellegible voice, before returning to his tea.

"What are those, Twilight?" asked the baby dragon, walking near her and examining the stuff that the mare had brought inside.

"Still don't know, but it came from the Princess. It's for Crystal." Muttered Twilight, raising her eyes from the letter. The stallion looked at her with surprise. "I guess that's some kind of incentive." She stated with a slight smirk at the stallion's surprised frown. Spike reached the flat package and started to unwrap it.

"Uh.. there are just some clothes here." He exclaimed, a little bit disappointed, extracting a black suit from the remains of the papers. A black, elegant black jacket with tails, a little ruined but still in generally good shape, as well as a necklace consisting in a black string passing through four candid, sharp and pointy fangs. "What are thse things?"

"Things examined by the unicorns of the castle and not considered dangerous. I believe these are part of your belongings Crystal, am I correct?" asked the mare, lowering the letter and looking at the stallion: Crystal had left the cup of tea, and was now examining the clothing in his hooves, a scrutinizing look on his muzzle. The mare smirked, imagining the surprise at the stallion for the kind action of the Princess. Surely he hadn't been expecting that.

Her horn lit up, as she rose the necklace in the air and tied it up around Crystal's neck, as he put on his suit.

"Here. You should say thank you to the Princess. She's trying to do everything she can to let you feel comfortable." She stated. The stallion grumbled something, examining his suit, as if trying to find some irregularity with it. The mare rolled her eyes, and turned towards Spike, who was opening the cylindrical box.

"Hey Twi, check this out!" he exclaimed, taking out a black top hat with a violet band around it and a scarlet feather stuck in this. "This will be great with the mustache spell." He exclaimed, putting it on his head.

The stallion smacked it off the dragon's head with a growl, glaring at him, and the little dragon jumped back the stallion grabbed his hat. Twilight immediately lowered her horn, ready to react.

"Don't touch it!" hissed Crystal, continuing to glare at the little dragon. He totally ignored the fighting stance of the mare and dusted off his hat, before placing it on his head. The mare's eyes widened as he raised on one hindleg and did a spin. "How do I look?" he asked, dropping back on all fours.

"…what was that all about…?" the mare asked after a couple of seconds of silence, raising an eyebrow. The stallion let out a chuckle, adjusting his hat.

"Sorry, I'm quite protective and proud of this outfit." he chuckled again, with a smile on his face. The mare blinked, before smirking. She saw an opening.

"You really like that, uh?" she asked, taking a few steps towards the stallion, who grinned, adjusting his hat. Surely he had gained some charm now. At least, he had a much more mysterious appearance.

"You could say that. This is actually all that I have to remember my mother."

"What she was like?"

"She…" started the stallion, before stopping, and looking at the mare: she had a greedy spark in her eyes. Stupid, he was lowering his guard. Stupid, stupid stupid! Well, that little cunt wanted a story? Fine, she was going to get one. Crystal Horn straightened, before grasping his cup of tea and lowering his eyes, assuming a sad, curved position.

"She was a wonderful pegasus mare, you know. She was from a noble family that had roots in Canterlot. But despite all of this she married my father, a simple creator of musical instruments. She had the passion for design, so when I asked for a suit, she made this for me." He stated with a low tone, staring inside the cup. Luckily, his hat's broad shadow covered his face, so Twilight was unable to see his smirk.

"What happened…?" she asked in a soft tone.

"There was an accident when I wasn't home… I don't want to talk about it, ok?" grunted the stallion, faking a sob. In reality, he was holding in his laughter, for the sake of the act. The mare nodded, closing her eyes.

"I'm sorry to have reminded you of that, I had no idea…" she murmured, before stepping beside the stallion and patting his back. Crystal snorted, as he tried to contain himself. Then the mare stepped out of the room, and started to go up the stairs. Crystal let out a low laugh, holding his stomach. He should have tried to be an actor. He bowed down his head and finished to sip his tea and eating up his cookies, noticing the famelic expression on Spike's face.

"Spike, I'm going out!" called the voice of the mare. "It shouldn't take long."

"Ok Twilight…" mumbled the little dragon.

"Crystal, are you coming?" asked the mare, poking her head back into the kitchen. "You are always complaining about being stuck here or in the town hall, so…" she left the sentence in the air, looking at the stallion. "Come on!" she finally added angrily, seeing that Crystal was looking at her in disbelief.

"Coming!"

-oOo-

"So, why did you decide to take me out at this hour? You never let a great number of ponies see me before." Stated Crystal, walking calmly beside Twilight, while letting his violet eyes wander around over the curious faces of the ponies around him. He kinda stood out with the way he was dressed, and that was something he wasn't really accustomed to. He had never been in a place where the ponies didn't wear something to show their wealth or social status, however low or high it was.

"I think you deserve a little bit of trust now. And you are with me in any case. But for what I can see, you are making quite the figure." Chuckled Twilight, as a couple of mares giggled and started to whisper to each other as Crystal moved his mane slightly while shaking his head.

"The fact they don't have teh slightest idea of whom I am probably helps." He whispered to the mare. She shook her head slightly, as she took a turn and continued to walk towards Sugarcube Corner.

"Probably. But when they see that you are not a demonic creature that came from the depths of Tartarus, when we show them that you are actually the prisoner, they will get over it quickly." She stated, opening the door and walking in. "Hello Pinkie."

"Hey, hello there Twi!" called the crazy pink mare's voice, as she hopped behind the counter. "Hey, hello there Crystal!" she added, as soon as she saw the stallion. "Oooooh, you are dressed fancy!"

"Thank you err… Pinkie." Answered the stallion.

"Give me a dozen sweet rolls, Pinkie." Said Twilight, chuckling at Crystal's discomfort. "And then Crystal can ask for whatever he wants."

"Okie Dokie!" exclaimed the baker, while grasping a bunch of pastries, putting them in a paper bag and passing them to Twilight, who left a couple of golden coins on the counter.

"Those are also for Crystal's order. While you are at it, I'm going to Applejack's stand out there." Called the mare, before leaving. Crystal blinked a couple of times, before turning slowly towards the smiling pink mare.

"I…err… want…something…sweet?"

"Silly, of course, that what you buy here." She laughed, before pointing at all the variety of foods standing behind the glass. Crystal Horn rolled his eyes and started to examine the sweets, trying to choose something fast to take and dart away. The fangs on his necklace tinkled when he bowed his head. Pinkie's eyes started to follow the scarlet feather dancing on the stallion's hat. She resembled a big pink cat eyeing its prey.

"Say Crystal…"

"Mh?"

"Where did you get such an amazing hat? It's socool." Chirped Pinkie. Crystal bit his tongue, repressing a snarl. What was this fixation with his clothes?

"My father gave it to me." He answered distractedly, fabricating another lie after a moment, hoping to get out of there quickly. Even if the pink mare was obviously the most oblivious and naive pony he'd ever met, she was also the most suffocating.

"Really? And how come he had such an amazing hat?"

"O dear…" mumbled the stallion. "He was a circus pony, and always used this to entertain little foals. When he died, he offered it to me, making me promise to wear it always with a smile." Here, a sloppy, stupid story for the mare. Whose eye enlarged and shimmered with ecstasy.

"And you are smiling, you are, you are, you are!" she exclaimed happily. Crystal would have called that expression a "smirk" but if to the mare it was a smile…

"Here, have this!" she exclaimed, grasping a whole bunch of sweets and holding them to the unicorn in a paper bag. Crystal didn't reply, taking it. "And continue to smile, ok?"

"I'll do my best." Muffled the stallion, walking backwards and rushing out of the store, into the light again. For the spirits, what a pain. Now, if he was lucky he would be able to return home with no problems…

"What are ya doing around here?" called a harsh southern voice behind him. Crystal sighed, turning and facing Applejack, who was staring him down.

"What are ya doing around without Twilight? And what's up with that fancy clothing?" she asked with a frown. Crystal sighed again.

-oOo-

"Girls, I called you here to tell you what Crystal Horn told me this morning." Chirped Twilight, clapping her hooves. Her friends looked at each other with surprised looks, as the dying sun shimmered through a window.

After their little morning trip, Crystal had closed himself up in the basement, while she passed her day doing her routine, until she finally decided to share what the prisoner had said to her. She had called her friends over to share his words with them that, before she sent a letter to the Princess.

"He opened up a little bit, and I actually think he may start to warm up. He talked to me a little about his past, his mother, how she was killed in an accident…" she started, before being cut of by Applejack.

"Wait, what? He told me that his entire family died in a fire."

"Nah-ah." Jumped in Pinkie Pie "He told me that he lived in a circus with his father, who died of natural death."

To that, followed a long, awkward silence.

-oOo-

"Crystal Horn!" called Twilight, slamming her hooves against the basement door. Behind her, Applejack was scratching the ground with her hooves, as was Rainbow Dash. The door opened slightly, as the stallion's head poked out.

"Yes?" he asked in a soft, silky tone.

"You lied to me, you lied to all of us!" growled the mare, holding herself back from jumping on him. His calm face was what irritated her most right now.

"Yeah, so?" asked the stallion, slightly annoyed. The mare's mouth fell slightly, since she didn't expect him to agree with her.

"So I… you…" she started, tripping on her words.

"Let me tell you something, Twilight…" continued Crystal in his silky tone. "No matter what you may think, that this is your home,and there are your little rules, that's totally fine with me. But for me, there are only two rules…" he continued, passing his foreleg around the mare's neck and dragging her near. Rainbow Dash snarled and prepared herself to charge.

"One, you don't touch my hat. Two, you don't try to play mind games with me to gain information, or you better start to pay attention to what you eat." He whispered at her ear, a cold glare in his eyes. The mare freed her head and stepped back, looking at him with wide eyes.

"Is that a threat?" she asked, feeling rage rising again inside her.

"Maybe…"

"You are just a laying criminal!" she screamed, her voice echoing tthrough the library.

"At least I'm not adopted." He hissed, before closing the door, slamming it in her surprised face.

And now, he could hope to have a little bit of peace, as the mare would have started to wonder. He snarled and walked back to his bed and picked up his hat. He distractedly passed a hoof over it, before returning to the books he had snatched when he had returned home.

"Silly. It's funny that she's going to think a lot about the possibility of being adopted, while I didn't have any problem with that." he mumbled to himself. Then he shrugged, and returned to his book.


	8. Chapter 8

The loud sound of clanking pots was the noise that woke up Applejack. The orange mare snorted and rolled over in her simple bed, pressing her hooves to her ears, trying to keep out the obnoxious noise that was drilling into her brain.

"What in tarnation…" she started, before recognising her Granny's voice shouting from the yard. If she was the one making the noise, there could only be one explanation. To confirm that, a far away howl echoed through the night, covering for a second the clanging from the yard.

"Yup. The timber wolves are howling all right!" she grunted, rolling off the bed and walking to the window. "Hey Granny, we got the message!"

"The Zap apples are coming, the Zap apples are coming!" screamed the old pony from the muddy yard. "We are going to have a whole lot to do, pipsqueak!" she screamed in delight, already thinking of the creation of the apples.

"We know Granny!" shouted back Applejack, as from the window beside her's, a light switched on and Big Mac's sleepy face appeared, the stallion still brushing the sleep from his eyes. "Come in, or yer gonna end up ill!"

"Ya worry too much Applejack! Ah may be old but my health is stronger than a bull high on-" started to retort the old mare, before being cut off by a long and scary howl, coming from the forest, followed by another two.

"Well, that's mighty near…" she muttered, narrowing her eyes and trying to pierce into the darkness as another howl echoed, and she caught the sight of a pair of yellow dots staring at her. But those were probably fireflies…

A series of faint growls started to come out from the woods, accompanied by further insistent howlings.

"Applejack, Mac! Come down at once!" called the old pony, as her eyes aught the sight of two big shapes emerging from the woods, walking slowly towards the farm's fence. Applejack immediately turned, grabbed her hat and darted out of her room, storming towards the stairs, as she heard the sound of her brother's heavy steps behind her.

"Ya'll have to light up some fire!" exclaimed Granny Smith as soon as the couple of earth ponies bashed out the door, as she continued to slam the pots against each other. The feral figures were growling, continuing their slow advance.

"Those are timberwolves Granny?" asked the orange mare, as she started to quickly gather some hay. The old pony nodded.

"It happens from time to time, they don't eat enough. They start to lurk around populated areas. It's a rare event, though. Last time that happened Mac was still wearing the diapers."

"Eyup." was the stoic comment of the scarlet stallion, as he lit up a little fire from a pile of hay. The sudden light flashed through the yard, and Applejack was able to see for a brief instant a massive, wooden body crawl back into the darkness.

"Ah wasn't expecting something like that to happen, but we have just to keep the fires up during night time, and we should be okay." Explained Granny Smith, as Applejack trotted to her side, after liting up another fire.

"For how long are those timberwolves are going to scramble around like bees in a field of flowers, Granny?" asked the orange mare, looking into the darkness, trying to locate any other wolves lurking around. The soft snoring of the elder mare was her only response.

"We should warn the mayor tomorrow." Noted Big Mac, walking up to the two. The orange one nodded, while from the dark forest another series of howls and snarls raised in the night.

-oOo-

The howls weren't heard just around Sweet Apple Acres. The hungry and devious scream of the timberwolves rolled in the air, echoing through the empty streets of Ponyville, waking up some ponies and keeping them on edge all night long.

That was the reason why, the next morning, Spike had to deal with a tired Twilight who had two two enormous bags under her eyes and hadn't bothered to comb her mane. As soon as she stumbled in front of the table, she slammed her head down on it, groaning.

"Something wrong Twilight? Are you sick or something?" asked the little dragon, raising an eyebrow, as he started to prepare the mare's breakfast. "You don't look so good."

"I had a rough night. Timberwolves howled all night long." She grunted, raising her head slightly. "Make me a black coffee please. I hardly think tea can wake me up."

"Timber wolf you say, uh?" asked the baby dragon, starting to search for the coffee. "I didn't hear them."

"Your own snoring probably covered up their sound." Grumbled the mare. "I suppose that Applejack will be starting preparations now for the Zap apples then… still have to find the connection between those apples and those animals." She grumbled.

"Animals?" asked a surprised voice from the corner of the room. Twilight turned a little her head, and spotted the black stallion sitting in a corner, while sipping from a cup of tea and looking at her with a with a curious look from under his hat. Since the day he had completely and unabashedly lied to her and her friends, she had ordered him to stay confined in a corner during meal times, and he was also unable to take any book from the library. Two punishments he seemed to have taken really well.

"Yeah, animals." She grunted. She didn't have any intention of being irritated so early in the morning.

"How call it an animal when the being is made out of branches, leaves and the trash of the forest?" he asked. "They have no blood nor organs."

"They are sentient, so they are not plants for sure." Snapped the mare, trying to hide her ignorance on the subject. Not that it was her fault: general studies and reports on timberwolves were quite rare and unprecise due to their danger and rarity.

"They are not plants." Stated the stallion sipping a little bit of his tea. "They are spirits."

"Oh, of course, I should have imagined." Snarled the mare. "After all Zecora spent almost an hour explaining to me that your supposed 'talent' is something concerning all the silly beliefs of zebras."

"Silly?" asked the stallion, his voice suddenly tense and nervous.

"I mean, they are quite interesting and charming, but of course are the outcome of a tribal society where no one is able to use magic, so they gave the attributes of 'magic' and 'power' to elemental forces, giving them life in the form of 'spirits'. I didn't say anything to avoid offending her, but honestly, I can't believe you actually think those things too! You, a unicorn!" she said angrily, as the baby dragon placed a cup of coffee in front of her. The stallion took a sip at his cup, glaring at her.

"Then how do you explain they can reattach their separated limbs?" he finally asked.

"They are magical creatures, evidently. Unicorns aren't the only ones able to use magic, in Equestria." Retorted the mare, drinking her coffee.

"This is just an assumption dictated by the fact you actually don't know!"

"That doesn't change you believe in a bunch of foals' stories!" snapped the mare, jumping to her hooves. "Spike, I'm going to be studying in the library, if you need me." She quickly stated, before walking away in anger. Spike followed her tail until she disappeared from sight, before turning towards Crystal Horn and crossing his arms.

"You should have been more polite, you know? He stated, trying to lecture the unicorn. "She's still angry at you, you know?"

"Sucks to be her then." Snarled the pony, scratching his head. "But timberwolves… that's surprising news…" he muttered. "I wouldn't have ever expected to hear of timberwolves so close to a town…"

"Well… we have the Everfree Forest not too far away from the city, and sometimes we can hear them. That means that in Sweet Apple Acres, the Zap Apples are going to bloom." Explained the little dragon. "They magical apples that came from the depths of the forest, you know!" the little dragon started to explain, although the unicorn had stopped paying him any attention, lost in his own thoughts. He almost missed the knocking at the door, and the dialogue that followed it.

"Oh… Hello Applejack…"

"Twi, ya don't seem too good. Are ya feeling ok?"

"Well… yes… I was kept awake by the timberwolves. I'm sure you heard them too." answered the groggy voice of Twilight. Crystal didn't move, raising his ears.

"Ah was here just to talk you 'bout that. Granny said Ah should warn the town that this year those sack of branches are moving much closer than usual into our land. The mayor said to start setting a perimeter of fires around town and all, so if ya want to help…"

"Yes, of course."

"Oh, and she also said that the Crystal guy can stay home today. With everyone working for the town's safety, there will be no one giving him any work." Added the southern voice of Applejack. Crystal sighed in relief. That was another fantastic piece of news!

"Very well then. Give me a second to fix my mane and I'm with you." Stated Twilight's voice, followed by her steps walking up the stairs. She walked to her room and quickly passed the comb through her mane, while brushing her teeth at the same time. And when she turned, she almost slammed into Crystal Horn, who was waiting for her outside her room.

"What do you want?" she asked harshly, looking at the stallion. She wasn't in the mood.

"Since I've got nothing to do, can I go around on my own today?" he asked politely. The mare blinked, as her brain analyzed the question.

"What? Why?!" she finally asked.

"Well, you know, the citzens won't pay much attention to me, and I really want to go outside. I will become a crippled pony, sitting all day long in the basement. And I'm intrigued by the plants I've seen in the compendium you allowed me to read." He said politely. The purple mare stayed silent, thinking. "Come on, it's not like I can run away while no one is watching. I'm not fast, and with my horn sealed, I can't use any tricks. Your cyan pegasus friend would catch me in a few seconds." He added, slightly annoyed.

"I know… it's just…" started the mare, before sighing. "Ok, I want to trust you. But remember, if you do something…"

"What can I even do?" interrupted the stallion. The mare sighed.

"Ok, ok, you can go. But don't leave the town's boundaries, or I'll really send Rainbow to search for you." She said coldly. "And bring Spike with you, clear?"

"Clear…" muttered the stallion. Twilight nodded, satisfied, before passing him and walking down the stairs. Crystal heard her talking a little with her dragon slave, before walking out the door, accompanied by the other mare.

"Well… finally, alone…more or less…" grumbled Crystal, following slowly the steps of the mare.

-oOo-

"What did he want?" asked Applejack, as Twilight closed the door behind her and started to walk at her side. The street was already full of ponies, trotting around in hurry or fortifying their houses in some way.

"Just asked if he could go around without me." Twilight answered, looking at an earth pony carrying a wagon full of wooden boards towards a house. "Why is all the town so worried? Don't timberwolves stay around the forest?"

"Usually yes. But according to Granny Smith, this was a thin year of hunting for them, so they are being attracted to the cities. Last night a couple of them almost made it onto our lawn." Explained the orange mare. "It happened in the past too, when mah big brother was just a little tyke." She continued. "Granny said the timberwolves arrived in town, and they started to destroy homes and hurt ponies, even if in the end they were all sent back. But they sure ain't a force to ignore."

"I see… so, what is there to do?" asked the unicorn, moving away her eyes from Lyra, as the mint unicorn nailed a series of boards on her home's windows. "Is there some basic procedure? I never heard of a city being attacked by timberwolves."

"Well, Granny Smith, the Mayor, Filthy Rich and other ponies were here last time it happened, they'll lead all the others. For that matter, we have to start a line of fires on the edge of the forest. At night, they'll keep a large group of them in the forest. Ah was hoping you could make the fires controlled and able to last all night long."

"Oh, I should be able to do it." Said Twilight with a nod, before stopping and looking at Rarity's boutique: the candid mare was actually outside, and was trying to board one of the windows. But apparently she wasn't sure about the nail, since she was levitating it all around the board of the plank, while her little sister, Sweetie Belle, standing tense on two hooves, trying to hold the plank in place.

"Do ya need a hoof there, Rare?" asked the orange mare, covering her smirk with a hoof. The white unicorn huffed, as she finally placed the nail and started to hammer down slowly.

"No thanks dear, I was just trying to find a point where the cracks in the plank weren't gong to be too evident."

"Why do ya care anyway? Those are just for a few days, 'till the wolves return to the depths of the forest." Shrugged Applejack, rolling her eyes. "You're just wasting time on the details, as usual."

"Well, even a temporary defense doesn't have to be grotesque in any way, right?"

"It has to be functional." Sighed Applejack. "Anyway, if ya need any help, you know where to find us."

"I'll keep that in mind." Was the distracted response of the unicorn, as she floated up another nail.

"Ah'll probably come back later and help her to board up the rest of the building. We can probably consider ourselves lucky if by the evening she's boarded up one window." Whispered the orange mare to Twilight, who smiled slightly at the image of the candid mare trying to find a way to make a boarded-shut window look fabulous.

"What about Fluttershy?" she asked then, remembering where the pegasus' home was positioned. "Is she barricading as well?"

"Nope. She and her animals are going to stay at my home for this period of time. No discussion on that. All the little critters hanging around her house will be just like a candle for a pack of moths. But don't worry 'bout that. Now, we have a perimeter of fire to set up." Declared the orange mare, pointing to the edge of Ponyville. Both of them missed the shady unicorn walking in the shadows, headed towards the other edge of Ponyville.

"Do you really have to sneak around like that?" asked Spike, raising an eyebrow as he followed Crystal between the houses. The stallion didn't answer, looking around and sliding through the shadows of the houses. "And where are we going anyway?" asked the dragon, a little hint of tension in his voice. Of course, he wasn't too happy with the situation, but at least Crystal seemed to not be paying him that much attention.

"We are going to the edge of the forest." Was the rushed answer.

"The forest?! Why? Can't we just go around Ponyville?" asked worriedly the little dragon.

"You know, there are plants there." Answered the stallion, as if he was explaining something to a two year old foal. "And I want to see them."

"B-but the forest is dangerous! Didn't you hear Applejack? There are timberwolves. And also manticores, cockatrices and other creatures."

"You can return home and hide in your basket if you want. I'm going." Grunted Crystal, before sliding out of the shadows of the last house, and trotting with satisfaction towards the forest. Spike looked at him, wringing his fingers, before finally groaning and starting to follow the unicorn. He reached him as Crystal was examining with interest some mushrooms growing on the trunk of a dark, contorted tree.

"Twilight told me to keep an eye on you and I'm going to do so. Also, you took one of her saddlebags without permission." Said the little dragon, looking around, spotting some ponies far away who were starting to light up fires around the town.

"Where I was supposed to put the book?" asked distractedly the stallion, before taking a few steps into the woods. "Come on, let's go in."

"We aren't going deep… are we?" asked the little dragon, continuing to give quick glances towards the town. The stallion rolled his eyes, as he continued to walk on the grass, his eyes glued over the ground.

"We aren't going deeper than where we can see the town through the trees, happy?" he asked, stopping and examining a muddy footprint in the ground, half hidden by a knot of grass. "Well, look at this. It's a timberwolf paw."he stated gladly. Spike immediately froze, and started to move his eyes around even quicker. The stallion started to rustle in the bushes around the tree, looking for something.

"What are you doing?! We have to get out of here! The timberwolves may still be around…" whispered the little dragon, but he was cut off by a happy exclamation from the stallion: he had moved a bush, and had discovered a stain of green gooey stuff glued to some leaves.

"Dragon, try to be useful and take out one of the jars I have in the saddlebag, and collect this thing." Crystal Horn ordered, examining the green substance. Spike huffed, but eventually opened the saddlebag and took out a little glass jar, left over from the last time Twilight had bought Zap Apple jam. Actually, there were a lot of jars in the saddlebags Crystal was carrying.

"Why do you have all of these with you?" asked the little dragon, taking out one of them and starting to let the goey stuff drip into the jar.

"In case I find some interesting samples to examine. I'm quite curious, when it comes to these things." Explained the unicorn, letting his purple eyes wander around.

"And what is this?" asked the dragon with disgust, sniffing slightly the horrible smell that the substance emitted.

"That's timberwolf resin. If we are lucky, we are going to find some splinters!"

"Why do you even want to collect these things?! Weren't you just interested in the plants?" asked the little dragon, feeling grossed out by the smell of the resin as he closed the jar. Crystal rolled his eyes, searching for other remains. That little dragon was quite naive and annoying. Wasn't he ever able to shut up?

"For the real interesting plants I would have to go a little deeper in the forest, which is a thing that I can't do. So I have to gather interesting stuff around the edge." He explained, discovering a patch of little scarlet mushrooms, hiding in the shadows. "And lookie here, I'm lucky after all: 'inocybe erubescens." He exclaimed, purring to himself. "It's so nice to have found you." He said, leaning down and looking at the mushrooms' dirty red caps.

"What are those mushrooms?" asked the little dragon, stepping up beside the stallion and sniffing the air. "Are they good to eat? We don't usually eat very many mushrooms, since Twilight doesn't like them very much. But I can cook them… if you want, I mean." He commented, passing a finger over the powdery surface of the mushroom.

"I surely wouldn't want this one." Grunted the stallion. "This is a poiosonous mushroom." Immediately Spike jumped back, cleaning his finger on the grass. The stallion shook his head in exasperation, before gesturing to his saddlebag. Spike slowly took out another empty jar, and with the tip of his claws started to take the mushrooms and put them into the glass container.

"If you want to search for some more edible mushrooms, we can go search deeper into the forest." Said calmly the stallion. Immediately the dragon jumped in the air, startled.

"O no, we can't…" he started, before stopping and running behind the silver tail of the stallion, as he started to walk further into the forest. "Ok, ok, we can go a little bit deeper. We can go on the path to Zecora's hut! That is safe…"

"No, we'll stay away from there!" grunted the unicorn, while moving away some bushes made of sharp-looking leaves. "It's in the wild that you find the most interesting things."

"But, but…"

"You can go home, if you are scared." Stated again Crystal Horn, while sniffing the air and continuing to move bushes away. The little dragon bit his lip, before slowly following the pony.

"I'm not scared, I… I was just saying…" he muttered, as the light coming from the sun started to fade slowly away. ""Zecora! Will she be safe from the timberwolves?!" he suddenly exclaimed. "Her hut is right in the middle of the forest! We have to check if she's ok!"

"No we don't." groaned the stallion. "If she already lives in a deeper part of the forest, she is already in timberwolf territory, so she knows how to deal with them. She probably has some protective charms, keeping out those pesky spirits." Grumbled the unicorn, while stopping and checking another series of tracks on the ground.

"But Twilight said they aren't sp-"

"She doesn't know everything!" snapped Crystal, turning his head and glaring at the dragon with his violet eyes. But different from Twilight's eyes, where he could see kindness, in these eyes he could only see a cold stare. Spike gulped and continued to follow the silver tail of the unicorn.

A few minutes passed in silence, as the two continued their walk in the forest, the light from the sky decreasing with every step they took. The unicorn stopped a couple of times, gesturing to the dragon to gather a bunch of strange looking berries and a group of leaves, but for the rest they stayed silent.

At least, until Spike's nostrils picked up a strong, metallic and disgusting scent. He immediately raised his hands to cover his nose, which was already hurting from the strenght of the smell.

"Dear Celestia what's that smell?" he asked, looking around. Crystal Horn sniffed the air as well, before moving a low branch, revealing a little clearing surrounded by tall and dark trees. In the middle of the clearing, there laid a body: the leonine corpse was resting on one side, in the middle of a pool of dried blood. The noise of flies, that initially Spike had confused for a hive of bees, filled the air.

"Well look at this…" muttered Crystal, wrinkling his nose and taking a few steps. The manticore, because that was, was laying mottionless, covered with slashes and bite marks. The stallion took a few steps, while sending away a few flies that started to buzz around him.

"What happened to it?" whispered Spike, looking at the dead body from behind the stallion. "Aren't manticores supposed to be extremely dangerous animals?"

"Of course they are. But timberwolves are too." Said the stallion, while circling around the leonine body and grabbing the scorpion-like tail. "And considering that they can recreate their bodies, and they're not susceptible to poison, this manticore really didn't have a chance against a pack of them." He said, flipping the tail over, before pressing some points along it. With a little splurting sound, a thin trail of reddish poison started to drip down the hooked stinger. "Dragon, please, take a jar and store this."

"What?! Come on!" grunted Spike, but he grabbed another jar anyway and started, carefully, to gather the dripping poison. "You barely even searched for any plants." He grumbled, giving a glare to Crystal, who was too concentrated on the poison to answer him.

"The secretion is still fluid… it must have died no earlier than last night…" he muttered. "And we are not so far from town…"

"We should really, really go back…" murmured the little dragon in a terrified voice. "I don't want to stay out here any longer!"

"Chicken." Huffed the stallion, shaking his head. A low growl was the only response. "You can be angry as much as you want, but if you're going to run away, you are a chicken anyway."

"That wasn't me…" whispered fearfully the little dragon, staring into the woods: at least six pairs of eyes were staring down the duo, as growls rose from the bushes. Crystal paled, as he left the manticore's tail and stepped back. In a rustle of branches and leaves, two timberwolves emerged from the shadows, the wooden paws moving silently, the jaws open and showing the sharp fangs made out of splinters, trails of resin drool dripping from its maw.

Crystal started to step back, but was stopped by Spike's body, since he was stepping back as well, away from another timberwolf that had emerged from the other side of the clearing, and was now walking slowly towards them.

"What do we do now?!" asked the little dragon, terrified, clutching the unicorn's leg, shaking. Crystal looked around, while another couple of timberwolves emerged from the shadows and started to advance towards them. He licked his lips, tense.

"Mimi ni mtumishi wa vivuli! Kaa mbali!" he then shouted, glaring at the timberwolves. The vegetation creatures stopped for a moment, looking at him with their glowing eyes, before growling and continuing their advance. Crystal could feel the little dragon's claws piercing his skin.

"What are you doing?" came Spike's fearful voice, as he started to shake harder.

"I tried to scare them. But they are too feral to understand what I said, I think. That was worth a shot." Muttered the stallion.

Well, that sucked.

Timberwolves were savage and mindless spirits coming from the deepest and darkest corners of nature, unable to understand anything different from basic instinct. That's why they were so eager to maul them. They weren't really different from animals.

Crystal's eyes widened, as he was hit by n idea. Of course! They were almost immortal, and didn't have any need for food. But they acted like animals.

"Spike… climb on me… slowly…" he whispered, keeping his eyes glued to the pack of timberwolves. The little dragon nodded and started to climb the stallion, pulling his coat as he placed himself on his back. One of the timberwolves started to growl, crouching and raising its tail. It was going to pounce in a few seconds, triggering the rest of the pack to attack.

"When I tell you… use your fire… on the manticore's tail…" whispered the stallion, feeling a few drops of sweat rolling down his forehead. He never had to deal with timberwolves on his own before. But he didn't have time to be scared right now. He felt the little dragon nod, rubbing his face on Crystal's neck, which he was firmly grasping.

With a sudden howl, the timberwolf jumped through the air at lightning speed, charging the unicorn, who was waiting for it, and was quick enough to raise his hooves. He let out a scream of pain as the creature sank his teeth in his flesh, almost tossing the unicorn on the ground with its weight.

"Kutomba wewe!" grunted Crystal, before slamming his head on the timberwolf's muzzle, aiming at the pebble that serve as a nose. The wolf yelped, and stepped back, letting go of the unicorn's forelegs, which he had protected himself with: as he had hoped, a few wooden teeth were still stuck in his flesh, nocked from the wooden jaw of the creature.

"Now." Ordered Crystal Horn, starting to turn, giving Spike a clear shot: the little dragon, even if terrified, spat a thin stream of green flames that flew towards the dead manticore's tail. As soon as the flames hit the needle, it exploded in a bright and intense flower of flames. It lasted not even a second, but was enough to make the timberwolves suddenly flatten on the ground and yelp. Crystal immediately started to run away, taking advantage of the moment of fear of the predators.

"What's happened?!" asked Spike, as Crystal ran away, and a series of howls started to echo behind them.

"Manticore poison is flammable. And those fuckers are made out of wood. We got a few seconds' head start. Now, we have to return to town as soon as possible. Since it's daytime and there are a lot of ponies around, they are not going to follow us inside."

"Can't you lose them inside the forest?" asked the little dragon, turning his head and immediately spotting at least three timberwolves not too far away.

"I thought Twilight told you I'm no good at physical stuff!" screamd the unicorn. Spike actually noted that he was already panting and sweating profusely, even if he hadn't been running for even a minute. "I'm also carrying you and the saddlebag! So no, I'm not going to lose anymore time in this place." He panted, tripping a little on his wounded leg.

Spike looked back again: the entire pack of wolves was a few meters behind them, their jaws open and drooling. He gulped and returned to look in front of them: the edge of the forest wasn't that close. He looked around, trying to recognize where they were. Not an easy task, but…

"Turn left!" he suddenly shouted, moving the unicorn's head, trying to make him turn.

"I'm not staying!" was the muffled answer of the unicorn, but when Spike pulled his mane, he yelped and followed the little dragon's indications. "Where are we going?" he asked, starting to smell the disgusting breath of the timberwolves behind him.

"Trust me, I have a plan!" was the response. Crystal paled even more. That wasn't reassuring at all.

The vegetation suddenly opened, as the unicorn continued to run, his muscles starting to scream in pain. His eyes was starting to lose focus due to fatigue, but he was still able to see what was in front of him.

"Dragon, there is a cliff over there!" screamed the unicorn. He felt Spike nodding.

"Yeah, and there are also a lot of vines growing over the edge! If you can grab them, you can hold onto them until the wolves leaves."

"That's not a plan!" screamed the stallion, half tempted to stop running. But the breath of the timberwolves behind him convinced him otherwise. He made a final sprint, and jumped off the cliff, letting out an acute scream of fear that escaped from his clenched jaw. He fell for at least two meters before actually reacting, moving his legs aimlessly through the air, trying to grasp the green and slippery vines.

He could hear the dragon screaming in his ear while almost piercing his flesh with his claws, until he grasped a few vines with his hooves and mouth, sliding down for another couple of meters before eventually coming to a stop. He stayed motionless, too scared to even look how high they were.

"We…we are alive! It worked!" exclaimed Spike, letting out a tense laugh. Crystal opened one eye, daring to look down, spotting the hard, rocky ground at least twenty meters down. He clutched the vines even tighter, feeling the bitter taste of the vine in his mouth. His ears raised up when the barking and howling of the timberwolves arrived from above the cliff, just before the creatures jumped over it, falling past them towards the ground.

Being spirits didn't make them smart, and their bloodlust surely didn't help. A series of smashes and cracking sounds made Crystal aware that the creatures had fallen and smashed on the ground. The stallion huffed, and started, really slowly, to climb up the vines, with his muscles begging for mercy.

"Ha! We've done it!" cheered the little dragon, jumping slightly on the stallion's back, risking to knock him falling down.

"When I finish with the elements, I'll turn you into a wallet…" grumbled Crystal under his breath, as he managed to climb up the slippery vines, finally placing a hoof on the cliff and dragging himself up, panting. He slowly raised on his legs, panting and shambling slightly, as Spike jumped off him and looked down the cliff.

"Even if they can regenerate, they can't return back here!" exclaimed the little dragon, looking down. The scattered wooden remains of the timberwolves were laying motionless below them, piled messily. A greenish light was shining around the remains of the creatures. "Hah! They can't do anything!" exclaimed happily the little dragon. Crystal Horn stared down, worried: the green light was pulsing angrily, as the remains of the timberwolves started to move, all together.

"Oh Snap…" he murmured as he saw a series of other debris coming out of the forest, floating towards the light. "We should run."

"What? Why?"

-oOo-

"Applejack I'm serious, if… if it's a burden, I can just stay at my place… we may be a little cramped, but we'll be safe there… a-and we can just block the door, so…"

"Fluttershy, you are mah friend and all, but if I hear another complaint about ya staying with me for the next days, Ah promise ah'm gonna gag you!" growled Applejack, glaring at the butter coated pegasus, who immediately closed her mouth with a little whimper. "Yer friends are going to stay in the barn, so this is not going to be a burden at all, ya know?"

"Well, ok then…" murmured Fluttershy, flapping her wings as she carried a basket full of little ducks in her hooves, heading towards the scarlet barn of the Apple family, where Angel bunny was directing and organizing all the other creatures from Fluttershy's cottage, with the help of a big, brown bear.

"On the other hoof Applejack, are you sure you are going to be ok with just a couple of fires around your house?" asked Twilight, walking away from a pile of flaming hay that she had just enchanted to burn untill the next morning.

"We're all going to be fine. Timberwolves are kinda chickens when it comes to loud noises and fires. Ah never heard of a timberwolf so big or hungry to pass throught both those things."

A loud, ferocious howl echoed from out of the forest. The mares exchanged a glance.

"Ok… maybe we should light up some other fires…" muttered Applejack. "Just to be sure." She added, shrugging, gesturing to Twilight towards the edge of the forest. "We should start there and the-"

The sound of heavy steps started to emerge from the forest, as well as falling trees and ripping branches. The mares started to look to each other worriedly, as the noises become louder and louder. Twilight was starting to light up her horn, ready to hit whatever was going to come out, when Crystal Horn dashed out of a couple of bushes, wheezing loudly, a faint trail of blood leaking from a series of red dots on one of his legs.

On his back, clutching the unicorn's neck, there was Spike, who was holding Crystal so thight that for a second Twilight was scared he was going to choke him.

"Spike! Are you ok? Crystal, what's happening?!" she asked in a scared voice, running towards them: the stallion was quite clearly on the edge of collapsing, his jacket glued to his fur from his sweat and his breathing heavy and quick.

"Twilight! We have to run away! There is a-" started Spike, before the trees behind them were torn apart, revealing their pursuer: a massive timberwolf, as big at least as half of the barn, jumped out of the forest, letting out a loud and echoing howl.

"What in tarnation!" exclaimed Applejack, stepping back. The timberwolf's eyes immediately focused on the unicorn and the little dragon. It growled, its eyes shone with green light, and took a step forward, the wooden claws marking the soil at every step.

"Crystal step back!" exclaimed the purple mare, shooting a blast of purple energy at the wolf, which staggered back and let out a growl. Crystal shambled behind the barn, where he fell to the ground, wheezing, trying to catch his breath. He barely saw Applejack running past him, joining Twilight.

"What can I do, what can I do?!" whispered the little dragon, looking as Twilight tried to subdue the massive wooden creature, while Applejack tried to bind its legs, to no effect.

"O dear, this is bad…" whispered Fluttershy, joining the little dragon, looking at the fray, while from the farmhouse a massive red stallion stormed out, charging at the timberwolf, hitting one of its legs. The wolf howled, and swiped one of of its paws out, smacking the stallion into the ground before snapping effortlessly the rope that Applejack had been trying to use to tie him down.

"We have to do something! Crystal, you know about those things, what can we do?!" asked the little dragon fearfully, turning back and looking at the stallion, as he returned to his hooves with trembling legs. He shook himself, letting the heavy saddlebag falling to the ground. He turned, and started to rustle through it, without answering the little dragon. After a few seconds, he took out a jar full of liquid.

The manticore poison.

"Jump on my back." He ordered to the little dragon, while adjusting his hat and handing him the jar. The little dragon gulped, but then nodded, grasping the jar and hopping on the stallion's back.

"Wait, what-" started the pegasus mare, but the unicorn had already started to run out into the open. In the yard, the timberwolf had hit again the scarlet stallion, and was now glaring with its eyes at thepurple mare, as he uselessly tryed to damage it with her magic. Behind the wolf, Applejack was trying to kick one of its legs.

"Hey you!" Crystal Horn shouted. The timberwolf immediately turned his blazing eyes on him. "It's us that you all want right? You spirits are too to even manage to surround us and tear our flesh! Do you even think that only one body alone can take us!?" he shouted, jumping in place, ignoring the pain coming from the wounds on his leg. The enormous wolf bared its fangs, growling.

Crystal had to resist the gagging sensation that the creature's breath induced. The timberwolf forgot about the other three ponies, concentrating on the target of its rage.

"Be ready…" whispered Crystal. The wolf howled, and darted his muzzle towards the pony. Ready to gulp him down in one bite. "Now!" screamed the stallion, jumping out of the way. The little dragon tossed the jar, which smashed against the creature's muzzle, soaking the dry wood in manticore poison, a second before the dragon erupted a stream of green flames at the timberwolf.

The fiery blast hit the face of the timberwolf, wich stepped back, howling in pain, as the fire quicly spread on the dead wood composing its body, which was quickly engulfed in crackling flames. The timberwolf howled, seemingly in pain and fear, as it staggered back, before falling on the ground, motionless, as the body continued to burn.

"That was brutal."

"Eyup."

The body burned for a few minutes, leaving a trail of dense smoke in the air. Twilight had the impression of seeing a few wisps of green light flying away, hidden in the smoke, but she was too concerned about Spike to think about that.

"What happened?" she asked to the little dragon, while Fluttershy bandaged Crystal's wounded leg, after cleaning it. She saw with the tail of her eye the stallion unicorn placing the wooden teeth into his hat.

"We were looking around for plants… we entered too deep in the forest and…" started the little dragon, before being cut off by Applejack.

"What is that thing?" she asked aloud, pointing to a big, wooden ball, almost as large as the scarlet stallion, emerging from the pile of ash where the timberwolf's body had laid.

"Woodsteel…" murmured in wonder Crystal Horn. "It's the splinter where the spirits start to create their bodies… usually is smaller, but for a timberwolf of those dimensions…" he murmured, his eyes shining.

"Oh, quit it with all this mumbo jumbo and lies." Hissed Twilight. "There are no such things as spirits."

"Whatever you want, Sparkle…" grunted the stallion, before refocusing his eyes on the spherical, wooden mass. "But that thing is mine."


	9. Chapter 9

"Look! Is he…?"

"Don't point! What if he sees you?"

Crystal let out a low sigh as he walked towards Twilight's home after another day of scribbling and useless paperwork. But now, instead of only curious and oblivious looks, he attracted another kind of attention.

It had been like this since the day after the "Timberwolf incident". Twilight and the orange mare had told all their friends about the commotion, especially the white unicorn and the pink earth pony. And from them, the news had spread like wildfire through the little town.

That wasn't exactly the kind of attention that Crystal wanted, though. Not so soon. Now everypony was aware of what he did, and also what he did before, since apparently, Pinkie Pie had to add that part to the story too. So now everywhere he went, other ponies immediately noticed him, since he was so easy to spot, and they whispered, assuming he wasn't able to hear them.

Of course, they were such childish and stupid discussions that he didn't really payed much attention to them. Stupid like: ' He got rid of that monster, maybe he's not as bad as the newspapers described him.'. But on the other hoof, there were also discussions about the fact that he was probably the one that had brought the monster into the town's proximity. Those were the ones that scared him. If comments like those arrived at the princess' ears, it wouldn't be a good thing.

Apart from that, he was a little satisfied with the new glances he received. A mix of admiration, fear, and curiosity. How it used to be in the facility, and even before. Admired by the stupid, feared by the weak, and interesting to the foolish.

He smirked to himself as he continued to walk, adjusting his top hat. All in all though, the Timberwolf incident had turned out quite well for him. Not only had Twilight written to the princess about the event, explaining how Crystal Horn had saved Spike's life and "killed" the enormous Timberwolf, but he had also obtained a new cauldron, carving it from the steelwood he had gathered from the burnt remains of the creature.

Of course Twilight didn't say anything. To her, it was just some sort of pasttime, a simply the carving of a piece of wood, to obtain something useful. Due to her ignorance in the matter, she was of course unable to understand why he worked so hard to design a cauldroun made out of steelwood.

Oh well, better for him. He continued to walk, slightly amused by the whispers of the passing ponies. If he continued to play his part in this well, he was going to have the sealing ring removed soon.

He was cheerfully reveling in that mental image so much that he didn't notice the little dragon trying to catch his attention, until Spike finally walked at him and pulled the tails of Crystal's suit.

"Hey there Crystal, I was looking for you!" he panted, smiling at the unicorn. After the timberwolf incident, as a reward Twilight had given Crystal permission to wander around the edge of the forest, accompanied by Spike. But this was actually the first time that the little dragon had come to him.

"Hello there, Spike. Ready for another little walk in the woods?" asked the stallion, starting to head towards the forest. "I hope you have my saddlebag and all."

"Yeah… about that…" started the little dragon, scratching the nape of his neck. "Listen, uh... Rarity passed by the library earlier and... well, asked me if I could go with her to gather some gems, so…" the little dragon blurted out, avoiding to look up to the unicorn's eyes. "Maybe you can come with us, and scope out the edge of the forest. You see, there is a field with a whole lot of gems, that's a bit far from town, but it's kinda next to the forest anyway, so maybe…"

"On the edge there is hardly going to be anything of my interest." Snapped the stallion, glaring at the little dragon, who shuffled a little.

"I know… but I would really, really, really REALLY like to go get some gems with Rarity…" wailed the little dragon.

"I suppose that the choice is between this or staying locked in the basement." Grunted the unicorn, still glaring daggers at Spike. "Very well, then. If the only chance to have your… 'escort' is to have to waste time in a place with barely anything interesting… I assume it's still better than sitting in the basement carving wood." He muttered. The little dragon smiled brightly.

"Alright, cool! Then let's go get Rarity, then!" chirped happily the little dragon, turning and starting to run down the street. Crystal Horn huffed, following him down the street. It was quite obvious that the reason behind Spike's desire to go gem hunting with Rarity were all but noble, but who was he to judge?

Considering everything, he was sure that Rarity was probably an attractive mare, and a lot of stallions (and apparently baby dragons) were eager to do whatever she asked them with a flap of her long eyelashes. And she probably knew that. He had met another couple of mares like her during his previous years at his occupation in the facility.

Colteater, as they were called.

Evidently the little dragon was like clay in her hooves, and she was eager to use him for her own benefit. Something strange for a pony supposed to be the element of generosity.

He shrugged and continued to follow the little dragon, as he ran happily towards a frilly-looking shop. Even if the windows were boarded up and a heavy chain was placed in front of the door, it gave the impression of being a fancy place. The little dragon opened the door and kept it open for Crystal to walk inside.

As soon as he stepped inside, his eyes were immediately attracted to the numerous mannequins covered in frilly and elaborate dresses. He stopped, looking at them, quite impressed. It was rare for a colteater to be able to actually do something.

He looked around, immediately locating the chest that was probably supposed to contain the gems that she apparently used as decorations for her dresses. It was open and empty, except for a tiny ruby, resting at the bottom.

"Welcome to Carouselle Boutique, where everything is… oh, hello Spiky!" sounded the voice of the unicorn, as she entered into the large room, immediately spotting the little dragon, who floated towards her, sighing in delight. "So are you coming, then?" she asked softly, smiling.

"Of course Rarity! There was no doubt about it!" he exclaimed. "Digging up gems is something you shouldn't have to do yourself!"

"Oh, aren't you the sweetest thing?" she cooed, rubbing the dragon's head with a hoof, before noticing the stallion looking around, without paying attention to them. "Oh… hello Crystal. What can I do for you?"

"He's coming with us. So he can search for all his plant thingies, and I can keep an eye on him and help you at the same time!" explained the little dragon, smiling. "Everyone wins!"

"As I explained, the interesting thingies, as you call them, are in the forest's depths!" huffed the stallion, turning his head slightly, before returning to examining a long gown on a mannequin. "But since the alternative is staying closed up in a basement, I'd rather stay outside."

"So… everyone wins." Noted the little dragon, before turning with a silly smile to Rarity. "Shall we go?"

"In a second, dear." Said Rarity, before turning towards the stairs leading up to the second level. "Sweetie dear, I'm heading out." she shouted. "If you go out, remember to bring the keys."

"Will do!" answered a sweet and loud filly's voice. Rarity smiled, before turning towards Spike.

"We can go Spiky. We should take the little wagon, of course. It's no problem for you to pull it, right?"

"Anything for you…" murmured Spike, his voice trailing off as he followed the candid mare outside.

"Crystal Horn, are you coming?"

The stallion huffed, lowering his head, before walking out of the shop and following slowly behind the other two. Not the afternoon he had been hoping for, but it was better then sitting around for another five hours carving wood.

-oOo-

As the little dragon had said, they walked out of town, headed towards a little wasteland on the west side, confined beside a stripped section of the forest. Apparently the mare knew well that patch of land, since she moved swiftly around the rocks and the piles of dirt scattered all around the dusty area. Spike was trotting after her, a dreamy expression on his face, as he pulled the little red cart behind him.

Crystal followed the two, looking curiously at the spell that the mare was using to spot the gems. Sure, she had the little dragon digging up the ground and extracting them, but the fact that the mare was actually doing something, other then directing the little dragon…

That was actually new. Crystal had admit he had not expected something like that coming from a seemingly sophisticated mare. He shook his head, continuing to follow them and letting his eyes scan the edge of the forest, searching for anything that might interest him.

So he didn't notice the other two stopping for him, until he heard Rarity's voice.

"So, how is the job Twilight and the Mayor found for you going?" she asked, smiling at the stallion, while her horn continued to shine and survey the area. Crystal Horn raised an eyebrow, unable to locate any irony in her voice.

"Horribly." He finally answered, looking forward. "But thank you for the concern."

"Oh… I'm sorry. I thought that you would have found it refreshing to have something to do…" muttered the mare, raising an eyebrow.

"I would do… if it wasn't staying motionless for five hours filling papers about foolish things." Grunted the stallion.

"Well, what are you good at then? Maybe you can ask Twilight to find you something different to do." Said softly the mare, while pointing at a spot on the ground, where Spike immediately started to dig. "It's not good if you do something against your will like this. You should enjoy your job. At least, that should be the first rule." She stated, before moving her eyes over the little purple doll pierced with needles printed on the stallion's dark flank.

"Are you practiced with sewing?" she asked, returning her eyes on the stallion's.

"A little… why?" asked cautiously Crystal Horn, eyeing the mare: he of course was good at sewing, especially since it was necessary to craft voodoo dolls. But that was something the mare didn't need to know. "Why?"

"Well, I was thinking… since you don't like your job, if you want I can ask Twilight to take you under my watch. I make dresses, so you may find yourself a little bit more comfortable there than sitting behind a table." The mare explained with a little smile. "I can still keep an eye on you, and you may actually get to do something you are good at. What do you think?"

The stallion looked at her with a blank expression, as Spike emerged from the hole, tossing a few gems in the cart.

"I… would really appreciate that…" finally muttered the stallion, placing an enormous smile on his face. "I'll gladly accept a chance like this, miss Rarity…"

"It's just Rarity." replied the mare, evidently happy of the turnout. "I'll speak to Twilight when we return to town. But don't think about slacking off. If you are going to help me, you'll have to work!" she said playfully, her horn glowing again.

"I'll manage that." snickered the stallion, while in his brain he was rubbing his hooves together deviously: having to stay under the supervision of an Element of Harmony was an excellent thing. The mare had probably made the decision without thinking things through, but that fell incredibly in his favor. She was evidently more naive than Twilight, and having her infuence the purple unicorn's opinion was something good.

"Wait, what?! But Rarity, you already have me to help you!" whined Spike, looking worriedly at the mare, who chuckled, missing the disgusted expression that flashed over Crystal's face, as he looked at the little dragon.

"Of course you'll help me too Spikey, but Crystal will have to work with me, not just help me as you do." She cooed. "He'll have more responsibilites than you do. Don't worry Spikey, I'll still need you."

Crystal Horn repressed a gag, as he looked away while the mare rubbed a hoof on the dragon's head. Spike smiled and grabbed the little cart's handle again, dragging it onwards as the mare continued to point here and there at the ground as her spell located the gems.

The stallion continued to follow the two, sometimes stopping and picking up a mushroom or a couple of dried up leaves, but without finding anything really worth his attention. On the other hoof, Rarity was having quite a bit more luck, since the cart was already playing host to a pile of gems of different color and dimensions.

"You are also quite interested in plants, heard." spoke up the candid mare again, turning her head to look at him. "It's an interesting hobby. Maybe you might be interested in meeting the mares that work at the flower shop…"

"I don't think so. " muttered the stallion, rolling his eyes. "Common flowers and plants aren't my cup of tea."

"Oh… is it more like an academic interest? Just interesting and rare things?" continued the mare, evidently trying to start a conversation.

"You could say that…" muttered the stallion, trying to avoid the curious gaze of the mare, shoving a couple of yellowish leaves in his saddlebag.

"That's something you could work with Twilight on. I'm sure she'll be quite happy to –"

"Where is Spike?" asked the stallion, cutting off the mare as he looked around. Rarity returned her attention to the world around them: the little dragon was nowhere to be seen. The cart stood abandoned a few meters from them, but Spike wasn't near it. Rarity blinked: she hadn't been looking away from the young reptile for even thirty seconds.

"Spikey?" she asked, taking a few steps and looking around. "Where did you go?"

"He probably ran off." Muttered the stallion, looking at the forest. He didn't really believe that, though. He probably was a little slave, but he stupid (or at least not that stupid). And his legs were also too short to let him disappear in the few moments the two ponies hadn't been looking at him.

"Eeep!"

The stallion turned. Rarity had disappeared as well. Now he was alone in the vast plain of dirt, with only the company of the gem loaded cart.

"Ok…" he muttered, stepping back. As far as he could see, there was no one around. Just dirt, and far away the forest. "Ok…" he mutetred again. "Let's go back. Ask for help. Be the good guy…"

From the ground, a tanned, furry arm ending in claws tore upwards in a shower of dirt, grasping one of his legs, before pulling him abruptly under the ground. The stallion had just a second to swing his forelegs over his hat before being surrounded by dirt.

Just as his lungs began to ache for air he was pulled out of the dirt.

"That's all of them!" exclaimed a low, growling voice.

"Very well, very well, now no one will go calling for help, yes?" asked another rough voice. The stallion coughed a couple of times, before opening his eyes: he was in a tunnel. An underground tunnel, lit up by a few torches on the walls, which managed to show a strange scene: two bulky diamond dogs wearing iron armor were holding Rarity and Spike, the first looking in total distress at her mane covered in dirt, while the little dragon was trying to free himself, without results.

Three other diamond dogs, a small one, a medium sized one and a big one, wearing leather jackets and diamond encrusted collars, were talking to each other. Crystal Horn groaned and stood up, dusting off his suit.

"Now we can finally have all the gems we want!" barked the medium sized one, rubbing his hands together. "This is perfect! The white one spot the gems, the dragon one dig, and the black one drag the cart!"

"Oh, Pl-eeeeeease, not this again." sighed the candid mare, before slapping the diamond dog holding her with her tail. The humanoid yelped and let her go, covering his nose. "I thought you three learned your lesson last time." She added, glaring at the three diamond dogs.

"This time we are prepared, pony." said the medium-sized one with a grin, taking a black muzzle with a lock on it out of a pocket. "If you start whining and drilling our ears, we can close your mouth."

"How dare you…" the mare started, but immediately shut up when the dog took a step towards her.

"Finally, we can have our gem-finding pony and not have to hear her loud and annoying voice!" cheered the little one, before sneezing. "Well done, Rover!"

"And we have another pony, so he can carry the wagon!" growled the big one, turning his eyes on Crystal, who blinked.

"Excuse me… what?"

"The white pony find the gems. The dragon dig them out, so the pretty pony does not ruin her… hooficure…" snarled the little one, glaring at Rarity. Crystal had the clear impression that something had happened between them. And he was sure that whatever it was, it hadn't been in the diamond dogs' favour. "And you carry the wagon."

"That's interesting. Now pray tell me, why should I do something like that?" asked the stallion, raising an eyebrow, as he adjusted his hat and looked at the little biped. He seemed to be positively stunned by the unicorn's words. "Surely you don't really expect me to do something for someone that just ponynapped me, right?" he asked again.

"You do it because… because… because otherwise, we are not letting you leave!" finally exclaimed Rover, the middle sized diamond dog with the scarlet leather jacket.

"I doubt that." stated the stallion, sitting on the ground. "I'm not moving." The diamond dogs looked at each other. In all likelihood, until now every pony they had ever encountered probably did whatever they wanted, probably just terrified by their appearence. But Crystal had seen far scaryer diamond dogs during his last occupation.

"I can't believe this!" snapped the little diamond dog, stomping one of his paws on the ground, letting out a cough. "We thought we had a plan for just one annoying pony, and now we have two annoying ponies!"

"Sucks to be you then." Commented Crystal, smirking. Evidently these diamond dogs were quite different from the bloodthirsty beasts he met. He adjusted his hat, smirking. Rover growled and walked over to him, trying to appear menacing.

"You work, or else…"

"Or else?" asked teasingly the stallion, smirking. The dog let out an exasperated groan, turning towards the others, searching for help.

"Why don't you just let us go?" stated the stallion, dusting off his hat. "And we'll act as if all thse shenanigans here didn't happen." He added, smiling softly. He missed the devious shimmer in Rover's eyes, as he saw the careful motion that Crystal used in cleaning his top hat.

The diamond dog took a step forward, and snatched the black hat off the stallion's head.

"Hey!" snapped Crystal, before stopping and cursing quietly in the zebra's language: he had just showed his weakness.

"You drag the cart, or you don't get your hat back. Got it?" snarled the diamond dog. Crystal shot him a glare, before nodding slightly and standing up. The other two diamond dogs cheered on their companion, while the stallion walked towards them, gritting his teeth.

"Yes! Finally! We are going to gather so many gems!" chirped the little one, before going into another fit of coughing.

"Come on, come on, we have no time to lose!" ordered the medium sized one, smiling. "And remember ponies: I don't want to hear your annoying voices, or you are going to have a cute ornament for your mouth." he barked, as another armored diamond dog placed a rusty metallic yoke over Crystal's back.

"You didn't even find a new one?" asked Rarity, with a slightly disgusted expression.

"Hush pony." Grunted the big diamond dog. "Just locate the precious with your magic thingy."

"Oh boy…" muttered Spike, as he was dropped on the ground and pushed by one of the dogs. He glanced quickly at the stallion, who was already panting as he tried to drag the cart attached to his yoke, the rusty and half-blocked wheels squeaking loudly.

-oOo-

Rarity's horn shone as she located another bunch of gems, which the little dragon immediately started to dig up. She turned her head, looking at the other unicorn: Twilight told her that he wasn't really physically-apt, but she didn't expect to see him already worn out after an hour of dragging the cart around. Of course the cart was now full of multicolored gems, and it it was cranky and rusted, the wheels hardly moving over the rocky terrain, but still…

"Come on, come on, faster!" barked Fido, the bigger of the diamond dogs, looking at the trio. "We need all of these gems as soon as possible. You search faster, you dig them up faster."

"Yeah!" added the little one, before coughing. He coughed almost every minute, a sort of strange soundtrack for the monotonous work that the trio had to do in silence, since Rover had explained what was going to happen to anyone whining or complaining.

"Spot, you ok buddy?" asked the big diamond dog, scratching his head. "You seem to need medicine or something…"

Rarity noted Crystal's ear dart up.

"I'm fine, I'm fine…" started the little one, before coughing again and sniffing, trying to clean his nose.

"You don't really seem fine to me." Commented Crystal Horn in an innocent tone. "Your nose is dripping and your lungs are trying to get rid of the sickness. But if you don't help them, you might get worse."

"See? Even the pony says that." stated Fido, nodding. Spot groaned and rolled his eyes.

"I can fix up some medicine for you." Added innocently the stallion. The two diamond dogs turned their eyes on him. "If you want, of course… and if you give me something back."

"You should carry the cart." Growled Fido, but his eyes were curious. And Crystal knew that. He nodded and returned to his work, dragging the gem filled wagon behind him. After a minute, he saw Fido wobble away down the tunnel. The pack instinct of the diamond dogs had was in his favour, since they probably weren't going to give up the chance to have someone heal one of them.

Rarity raised an eyebrow, as she saw Crystal Horn chuckle deviously.

After a few minutes, Fido and Rover were back, heading towards the stallion.

"You said you can fix Spot?" asked the diamond dog. Crystal nodded once, smiling slightly. "Uh… and what do you want in return?"

"My hat. That's a good deal right?" answered the unicorn. "After all, since I'm not able to run away from here, you can find other ways to oblige me towards doing things, right?" he said softly, a little smile on his muzzle. Rovar scratched his chin, before nodding.

"I think that's-"

"Very well then. I'll need a cauldron half filled with water, a fire, a bunch of rubies, a lot of different plants, and Rarity and Spike." The stallion quickly stated, suddenly assuming a professional and fast speech, pointing at the other unicorn and the baby dragon.

"Wa-? Why?"

"Well duh! One can use magic and the other one has fingers. I need them. Come on now, let's move, hop hop!" rushed the stallion, clapping his hooves togheter. Rarity was POSITIVE that she saw another devious smile appear on the stallion's face.

-oOo-

Twilight looked worriedly out the window, as the sky started to darken. She hadn't heard from Spike and Crystal Horn for the whole afternoon. She remembered that Spike said he wanted to go gem hunting with Rarity, and he would have tried to drag Crystal along, but now it was getting late.

What if something happened? What if Crystal had done something…

"Come on now Twilight, you are just being paranoid." She said to herself, moving away from the windows. "They're probably at Rarity's place. Spike is probably reluctant to come back and Crystal wouldn't have any intention to hurry him up.

"They'll come as soon as their bellies start to growl." she added with a smirk. "Of course, that is if Rarity doesn't decide to invite them over…" she muttered, before beig dragged out of her thoughts by a light tap on the door. "Here they are. Fashionably late."

She trotted towards the door, opening it with a flash of purple magic, placing a fake frown on her muzzle, expecting to see the stallion and the little dragon. Instead, she had to lower her eyes to see the little figure of Sweetie Belle, standing in front of her.

"Oh… hello Sweetie. What can I do for you?" asked the purple unicorn, slightly disappointed. The little filly seemed a little uneasy and worried, as she looked at Twilight with her olive eyes.

"Is Rarity here with you, Twilight? She's not home yet, and I was starting to get worried…" she murmured in her sweet voice. "I got home almost an hour ago after meeting the other crusaders, and she's not there. And she not back yet."

Twilight paled under her fur.

"Sweetie dear, return home, I'll go look for Rarity, ok? Don't worry, she's probably stuck somewhere with too many gems for her decide what to pick." She tried to reassure the little filly. Sweetie gave her a concerned look, before turning and starting to walk back to the boutique. As soon as the little filly was out of sight, the mare darted down the street towards Rainbow's house.

If Crystal had done something…

-oOo-

"What are you doing?" asked Rarity, examining the liquid bubbling inside the black cauldron that the dogs had given to the stallion: the deep red liquid bubbled lazily, emitting a faint trail of black smoke. Beside it a couple of crates had been placed to act as a table, where the mare and the little dragon were following the stallion's instructions, cutting and measuring the ingredients. At the moment, the little dragon was carefully peeling a contorted root, as Rarity levitated a bunch of leaves above the cauldron, dropping them as Crystal had indicatied.

"What do you mean?" he asked, raising his eyes from the scarlet liquid that he was mixing with a metallic ladle, courtesy of the diamond dogs.

"Are you trying to buy us some time? Or do you really have a plan?" whispered the mare, shooting a glance at the two diamond dogs guarding the trio. Crystal raised an eyebrow.

"I'm doing what I'm good at. You should not worry." He grunted, moving away his sweaty mane from his eyes. "Spike, the root." He ordered after a few seconds. The little dragon immediately tossed it into the liquid, which emitted a hiss as a few spots of black appeared on its surface. "Very good, very good, now, if those dogs would return with the last ingredient…" he muttered.

As if in answer to his complaints, Rover, Fido and Spot walked out of a side tunnel, their arms filled with tiny rubies. Spike's eyes sparkled, as he liked his lips at the sight. The diamond dogs dropped the gems near Crystal Horn, all of them glaring at him.

"If this is a trick to steal our gems…" started Rover, but shut up immediately when the stallion totally ignored him and started to push the gems towards the other two, ignoring the diamond dogs.

"I need you to reduce these to dust. Rarity, you can do it quickly, Spike-" He stopped, slapping the little dragon's hand as he opened his mouth, ready to gulp down a couple of rubies. "Don't eat them, we are going to need those." he scolded, before starting to crush the gems himself. Luckily for him, the diamond dogs had clearly not been eager to give out their best gems and had brought him the smallest they had, so a lot of them were already small enough.

Fido sniffed the cauldron, before covering his nose with a paw, yelping.

"What are you cooking in there?" he asked, a few tears escaping his eyes.

"I'm brewing, not cooking." Snapped the stallion, starting to toss the gems into the potion. With a bubble, the surface of the liquid inside the cauldroun exploded in a few bubbles, freeing an enormous puff of scarlet and shining smoke, that raised quickly through the air in a constant, moving up to ceiling and quickly slipping through the various tunnels, without losing its color or intensity.

-oOo-

"I knew we shouldn't have trusted him!" snarled the cyan pegasus, flying swiftly throught the sky, scanning the ground for any tracks of the prisoner, Rarity, or Spike.

"Come on girls, he couldn't have gotten too far." Snarled Applejack, narrowing her eyes, trying to find any tracks on the ground at the light provided by Twilight's floating orb of magic. Pinkie was walking at her side, nose pressed to the ground, sniffing.

"This is where Rarity and Spike usually come gem hunting. There should be some tracks here." Murmured Twilight, looking around as well.

"What's that?" suddenly exclaimed Pinkie, pointing far away over the dirt plain. A luminescent column of scarlet, shining smoke was puffing up out of the wastes, rising into the sky.

"Is that coming from underground?" asked Twilight, raising an eyebrow and taking a few steps, sniffing cautiously at the smoke.

"…Ain't this the place where all the diamond dogs were?" asked Applejack after a few seconds, looking around.

-oOo-

"It's ready!" Crystal Horn finally declared, stepping back from the cauldron. "You'll never find a better potion to heal a cold than this one!" he exclaimed, pointing to it. The three diamond dogs shared a few glances, before staring at the liquid, bubbling inside the black, metallic cauldron: it resempled molten magma, both in consistency and look.

"Now… can I have my hat, while you drink your medicine?" asked the unicorn, with a little smile. Rarity and Spike shared a glance.

"One moment, pony." Snarled Rover. Crystal's smile dropped. "You try it before Spot." The stallion gulped, his eyes widening.

"I…uh… sure, I…" he murmured, looking with terror at the bubbling substance. He took a few steps, examining it with the clear expression of someone that didn't want to be there. He sighed, before starting to take off his suit and tossing it to the little dragon. "Keep that safe for me, would you?" he asked, before returning his attention to the cauldron.

Rarity was going to tell him to stop acting, that clearly his plan to buy time had failed and it wasn't necessary for him to drink that dreadful mixture. But then she noted the evil smirk on his muzzle.

He lowered his head into the cauldron, and gulped down a sip. His face twitched a little due to the heat, but he didn't complain. The diamond dogs stared at him, waiting for something bad to happen.

"Well… that's not poison then…" finally growled Spot, sneezing. "Give me the ladle." He ordered, taking a few steps towards the cauldron.

"Well pony, a deal is a deal." Grunted Rover, tossing the black tophat on the ground. Rarity glared at him and grasped it with her magic, taking it. "Now, back to mining."

"I don't think so." Wheezed Crystal Horn. It seemed the dogs noted just then one of the stallion's eyes twitching, as teh iris became scarlet red. His fur was lighting up more and more, quickly passing from dark to white, as a few trails of steams started to rise from his body. His mane and tail were starting to move on their own.

The three dogs shared a worried glance, as the pony stood up. Evidently that was something they hadn't been expecting. Especially when Crystal's tail and mane exploded in two torrents of flames. They yelped and jumped back, starting to bark on instinct, as did the two armored diamond dogs.

"Oh my…" murmured Rarity, staring at the burning body of the stallion: apparently the flames were real, since over the ground trails of fire were starting to spread, but Crystal didn't seem to be affected. She didn't know what to think. Was that magic? No, that was impossible, Crystal had that ring on his horn… was it the potion? She would had never expected for a potion to have such an effect!

"Very well then… who should I burn first?" asked deviously the stallion, taking a step foward, his mane and tail's flames dancing around. He kicked the cauldron, sending it falling to ground, the liquid spreading over and starting to burn the rocky floor. The dogs yelped as the fire continued to spread along the rocks, and darted away into a side tunnel.

"Well, that was quick…" muttered the stallion, raising a flaming eyebrow. "I knew diamond dogs were scared of fire, but that is… well, more than I expected." He shrugged and turned towards his companions: Spike was looking amazed, while gulping down the unused rubies, and Rarity had her mouth hanging open.

"We should get out here." The stallion noted, a little smirk on his face at the expression of the others. "Please, take care of my clothes as long as I am in this state. I'd hate to burn them."

"That was… amazing!" finally exclaimed the little dragon, running to him. "How did you do that?! This is so cool! Was it the potion?!"

"Of course it was. Just a little bit of reverse psychology, to make them want me to drink it." Commented the unicorn. "Luckily a diamond dog's brain is quite simple."

"You had me worried for a second." Rarity sighed in relief. "I thought you just made some sort of generic mix to gain some time."

"Time for what?" Asked Crystal, his flaming mane dancing slightly. The answer came in the form of a purple magic blast darting out from a tunnel and hitting him in the flank, tossing his body against the wall of the cavern. The answer continued with a cyan blow to the stomach and a final orange kick to the jaw.

"Ya stay away from her, ya little varmint!" bellowed Applejack, while Rainbow Dash snorted at her side, glaring at the stallion. Behind them, Twilight and Pinkie Pie emerged from the tunnel.

"Rarity, Spike, I was so worried!" exclaimed the purple unicorn, dashing through the cavern and hugging the baby dragon, stroking his scales. "What did he do? Did he threaten you? Try to harm you in some way…?" she started to ask, before being interrupted by Spike.

"Calm down Twilight. Crystal was actually helping us out." snorted with a little frown the baby dragon, slightly annoyed by the sudden expression of affection from the mare.

"That's right, Twilight, we were going to escape thanks to him." added Rarity, nodding and adjusting her mane. "Speaking of which, we should get out of here, before those dreadful dogs came back."

"Uh… we should carry him then…" grumbled Applejack, watching as the stallion's coat darkened back, the flames on his mane and tail dying down, and his eyes closed in blissful unconsciousness, rocked by the pain shooting everywhere through his body.


End file.
